Roommates
by FastForward
Summary: Take one broody Sasuke, one hyperactive Naruto, shove them in a University dorm room together, and what do you get? Absolute chaos. SasuNaru
1. The Hyper and the Broody

**© 2006** **FastForward **

**Yo! What's up, all? Just a few things I felt I should note before we get started. **

**First, I do not speak **_**any**_** Japanese (sad, I know. It hurts). Therefore, I have opted to **_**not**_** make a fool of myself or insult any Japanese-speakers out there and have reverted to plain ol' English. That being said, there will be no suffixes to any names, and certain words have been changed to their English equivalent (as per fansubs/dubs). Hence:  
**_**Dobe**_** - Loser (I know the equivalent in English is 'dead last' but no one says that).  
**_**Usuratonkachi **_**-Moron  
**_**Teme**_** - Bastard and/or Asshole**

**Second, this is an AU. I was going to have this set in either America or even Japan, but since I don't know any layouts of universities there, nor do I know what they offer and such, I caved and this is taking place in Canada in a university I **_**do**_** know (UBC). They won't be going into Nationalities or anything anyway, so it doesn't matter really, I just thought I'd let you all know. **

**Third, I would like to thank my demented, horrifying and yet wonderful Muse, Frack. She helps me come up with the strangest ideas, and somewhat attempts to trick me into moulding the story to her own liking, which I sometimes do, to a degree. I hate to break it to you, though, Frack, but **_**Hayate is dead and he is NOT coming back! Let it go!**_

**Now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the story.  
**

**Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to K. Masashi. The only thing that is mine is the plot. I am making no profit from this story, so don't sue me, because you wouldn't get a heck of a lot. Thanks!**

**Warnings of things to come. Not right now, but eventually:  
- Yaoi. If you don't like it, don't read this.  
- Swearing. Loads and loads of swearing. Kiba's got a dirty mouth.  
- Self mutilation. By this, I mostly mean suicide attempts and self-inflicted starvation.  
- Death. Sadly, yes, people do die.  
- OOC. It can't be helped sometimes, and I'm sorry. I'll try not to make them **_**too**_** OOC, but I know for sure Sasuke will be at times. And Genma... VERY OOC... I was having too much fun when I wrote him... **

**Sorry this was so long. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Aw, man, grandma." Naruto Uzumaki rubbed the back of his head, staring at the letter in his hand. "You did this on purpose."

Hitomi Uzumaki smirked at her grandson, an air of innocence about her, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't give me that, I know you asked Tsunade to do this!" Naruto pointed his index finger at her, the letter in his hand crumpling.

Hitomi merely continued to smile. After all, it wasn't _her_ fault Tsunade Sannin was the president of the University of British Columbia. The fact that she regarded Naruto as her own grandson certainly wasn't _her_ fault, either. And—all right, perhaps the two having had tea and discussing the fact that they were worried about Naruto _was_ her fault, but honestly! She loved her grandson and she wanted at least _one_ person to get to know him before judging him. If the only way was for him to have a roommate, then so be it.

Naruto let out a groan as he rubbed his head furiously with both hands. He had enough problems at school, and he'd been looking forward to having his own room to escape the stares. He didn't mind the name calling so much anymore; it was the stares he didn't like. It felt as if people thought that staring hard enough would make him disappear. Then again, there were also the _other_ looks—the ones of adoration. The ones of love for the man who'd once been his father. 'Once been' because he was now dead. He'd died killing a monster, saving and destroying his son's life all at once.

Naruto's father had been the famous Forensic, Arashi Uzumaki, and he'd been the saviour of the people by catching—and killing—a notorious serial killer. The serial killer ended up being his own wife, and he'd managed to barely stop her from killing Naruto before the two struck killing blows. Minako Uzumaki had died then and there from a gunshot wound to the chest. Arashi had died on his way to the hospital, clutching his two-year-old child desperately to his chest the whole way.

And so, all at once, Naruto's life had been saved and destroyed. Those who didn't love him for being the son of a hero hated him for being the son of a murderer.

And now, whenever Naruto was going to need to get away, to be alone, he wouldn't be. He'd return to his room, but there would be someone else in there. He'd have more of a chance being alone in the _bathroom_!

"I don't even _want_ to live in Residence." Naruto muttered, balling up the letter and tossing it towards the bin. It sailed smoothly through the air, landing exactly in the centre of the round bin, causing the blonde to smile.

"Naruto, we've been through this." Hitomi sat down heavily, squeezing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She felt very light-headed.

Naruto spun around to argue and his eyes widened as they fell on his grandmother, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, grandma." Naruto ran to her, bending down in front of her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh, hush. I'm not going to break." Hitomi insisted with a weak smile.

Naruto disappeared from her side, rushing to the cabinet near the kitchen door. He opened it and pulled out various pill bottles, taking a pill from each. He returned to his grandmother's side with them and a glass of water, handing them to her.

"Thank you, Naruto." She smiled gratefully as she took the pills one by one.

"You're going to be okay, right?" Naruto whispered, watching her closely for any signs that he should call the doctor. Hitomi waved her now empty hand at him as she finished the water.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She placed her empty glass on the table.

"See, that's why I don't want to live in Residence. You need me here to—"

"I need you to stop worrying." Hitomi put her hands on Naruto's shoulders, shaking him once. "I need you to worry about yourself, for once. All your life it's been all about me. Now, it's time for it to be all about you." She ran one hand lightly down his scarred cheek, wincing inwardly as her fingers ran over the scars. "Besides," she continued cheerfully, "you'll only be two hours away. Actually, one, the way you drive." She teased. Naruto smirked.

It was true. From Mission to UBC, it was only about two hours if the traffic wasn't bad. Then again, Naruto had a hell-on-wheels manner of driving which would allow him to make the trip home in half the time, if need be—and even if not.

"I'm just..." Naruto trailed off, returning to their initial conversation. "I don't want to be stared at all the time. I don't want to feel an aura of hatred even in my own room."

Hitomi ruffled his hair and Naruto refrained from pulling away, but let his displeasure be known by narrowing his eyes at her.

"You're a great kid, Naruto." Hitomi insisted. "It's time others realised this, too." Naruto said nothing.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha opened the door to his dorm room, looking around in annoyance. _A roommate,_ he thought angrily. _Why the fuck do I have to have a roommate?_ It was a thought that entered Sasuke's head every time he opened his door, even though said roommate wasn't there yet.

Sasuke had moved in a week before because he was somewhat related to a professor at the university, thus giving him special privileges. His entire half of the room was neatly organized, but he still wished he'd been allowed to have a single room. If not for his 'episode', he probably _would_ have gotten his single room. However, since he'd tried to commit suicide _again_ in the last three months, his guardian had decided it would be a good idea for him to have a roommate. It was an indirect way of saying, "I'm watching you."

Sasuke sighed as he dropped his keys on the built-in shelf by the entrance, closing the door. He'd contemplated putting up some kind of separator in the room, but he couldn't be bothered. He'd just wait for his roommate to do it, and with Sasuke's talk-to-me-and-I'll-kill-you aura, he suspected it wouldn't take long.

_Why_ the room didn't have some sort of separation, he didn't know, but he was _definitely_ going to complain about it when the room surveys came around.

Sasuke's cell phone rang and he contemplated ignoring it, but he knew there was no point, since it would only cause the man calling to come and check on him. So, sighing, Sasuke pulled the hated technology from his pocket, flipping it open before putting it to his ear.

"How are you doing, Sasuke?" His guardian asked in his usual bored tone.

"Fine." Was Sasuke's clipped reply.

"The room okay?"

"Privacy is lacking." Sasuke grumbled.

"With you, privacy is dangerous, Sasuke."

"I said I wouldn't do it again." Sasuke replied evenly. There was a sigh.

"Sasuke, you've been telling me this for the last ten years. I don't believe you anymore, and if we didn't live so far, I would rather have you stay home. As it is, I'll have to settle being down the block."

Kakashi Hatake was Sasuke's legal guardian, and had been for the last ten years, since his older brother, Itachi—still at large—killed Sasuke's family. Sasuke's cousin Obito had been best friends with the current twenty-eight year old, and since Obito had been Sasuke's real godfather, after his unfortunate death in high school, that privilege had been passed on to Kakashi. He had been practically like family to the Uchiha's, and Sasuke was lucky Kakashi was so well liked, otherwise he would've gone to a foster family instead of Kakashi.

Of course, it hadn't been easy for Kakashi to gain custody of Sasuke, having been a month short of being nineteen at the time, but by the time the courts had started making a decision, his birthday had passed; the case was dropped, and Sasuke moved in with Kakashi.

Being a boy genius had helped Kakashi, because he was already in fourth year university when Sasuke had come into his custody, and a year later, he'd become an English professor at the same university: UBC.

During the year, Kakashi usually commuted to UBC from their home in Victoria, but that was because his classes were from eleven to seven, so he had time. With Sasuke starting classes at eight, it just wasn't an option, so Kakashi had requested housing in the professor's quarters to stay close to Sasuke.

So now, Sasuke was stuck with not only a roommate, but also his over-protective guardian living down the street.

"Can I at least get my own room?" Sasuke's grip tightened on his phone.

"No, Sasuke. I ensured you got a roommate who wouldn't bother you too much. He's supposed to keep to himself, for the most part. He gets excited and happy when he gets close to people, but knowing you, your Glare of Doom will keep him away."

"Exactly, so why bother giving me one if I'll chase him away?"

"Because it makes me feel more comfortable." Was the drawled reply.

"Hn." Sasuke walked to his desk and turned on his light. "Are we done?"

"Yeah, we're done." Sasuke hung up without another word, practically hurling his phone at the bookshelf his keys were on.

With an angered cry, he spun around and slammed his fist into the concrete wall, wincing as pain shot up his arm. He cradled his hand to his chest, small cuts slowly oozing blood.

"I hate you." He whispered, his mind flashing to an image of his brother. "I hope you're alive and well, because I'll be damned if someone kills you before I'm done with you."

Deciding to relish the silence of the dorm—which would disappear the next day—Sasuke grabbed a towel and his keys, heading to the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

"Naruto." A groan emitted from a large pile of blankets. "Naruto."

"Five more minutes." The pile of blankets shifted as the body cocooned within rolled over.

"Naruto, Jiraiya came with his pickup, and you know him. If you make him wait too long, he'll leave." Naruto sighed and began to untangle himself from his blankets. Once he was out of bed and headed for his bathroom, Hitomi closed his door to make him breakfast and, hopefully, con Jiraiya into waiting by bribing him with pancakes and coffee.

Naruto sighed as he brushed his teeth, lazily rubbing the sleep from his azure eyes. He was going to take extra long in the bathroom today, regardless of Jiraiya Sannin being there. Tsunade's perverted older brother could damn well wait while he relished his last day in his bathroom. Starting that evening, he'd be sharing one with twenty other guys. He wasn't looking forward to it.

After showering and doing all his other morning business, he pulled on jeans and an orange shirt before heading downstairs, his hair dripping and soaking his shirt collar.

"Oh, for crying out loud, how _old_ are you?" Hitomi pulled a dishtowel off the counter and roughly dried Naruto's hair as he sat down, grunting a greeting to Jiraiya, who was reading the paper.

"Hey, brat." Jiraiya smirked, dropping the newspaper onto the table and picking up his coffee mug. "Tsunade said she ensured to put you in my Anatomy Lab."

"Joy." Naruto mumbled, taking a bite of his breakfast.

"I—was expecting more enthusiasm." Jiraiya admitted.

"He's still sore about having a roommate." Hitomi said as she frowned at Naruto's hair, attempting to flatten the wet locks, which seemed insistent on rebelling and sticking in the air.

"Aw, come on, kid. It'll be fun." Naruto ignored the old man in front of him, taking a sip of his orange juice instead.

Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. He and Tsunade had known Naruto his entire life. Jiraiya had been Naruto's father's favourite professor, and it was Jiraiya himself who'd pushed Arashi towards forensics in the first place. Jiraiya regarded Naruto as a very stubborn grandson—even though he'd prefer to admit he saw him as a son; it made him feel less old.

"Is Orochimaru on my schedule?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya winced, cursing Tsunade for not having told him. Then again, who would willingly put themselves on the receiving end of the outburst that was about to come?

Orochimaru Sannin was the final of the three siblings, and unlike Tsunade and Jiraiya, he hated Naruto. They suspected it was because he'd hated Arashi for being as successful as he'd been when Orochimaru had failed. It was a stupid sort of grudge, but then again, the youngest of the three wasn't known for his intelligence. He was mean, unfair and generally unpleasant to be around, no matter _who_ you were. Then again, Naruto had heard a different version of why Orochimaru hated Arashi from Hitomi.

"Jiraiya?" The white-haired man looked at Hitomi as she stared at him pointedly. He was going to find out, anyway. Sighing, Jiraiya sipped his coffee before replying.

"He's teaching you Chem." He said hurriedly between sips.

"_**What?"**_

Even though the two adults had been expecting it, they still winced at the cheer volume of his outburst. His orange juice had almost tipped over when he slammed his fists on the table, but it was saved by re-balancing itself. The syrup, however, did not survive the assault, and it tipped sideways on the table, oozing the thick liquid onto the tablecloth.

"He's the best in his field."

"And he'll fail me for absolutely _no reason_!" Naruto argued angrily.

"Tsunade wouldn't let him, honey." Hitomi ran her hands soothingly up and down Naruto's muscled arms. "She'll make sure he treats you fairly."

"Fairly my ass!"

"Language, Naruto." Hitomi hissed.

"Sorry." Naruto grumbled.

"Everything will be all right, Naruto. You'll see." Hitomi patted his shoulder lightly before beginning to clean up the mess the syrup had made. Naruto stared down into his plate, suddenly not so hungry anymore.

* * *

Sasuke didn't know whether to scream, or shoot someone. If the people in the corridor could be _any_ louder, they would have defied the laws of sound. They were yelling, they were slamming doors, they were grunting, and complaining, and groaning, and Sasuke was going to kill them all! Granted, no one should've been in the Residence yet, but—it was eight in the morning, for crying out loud!

Sasuke rolled over and cried out as he almost fell off the bed. Grumbling curses under his breath, he shifted over towards the wall to save himself the three-foot fall to the ground. Having the beds that high was useful, yes, because it allowed for storage beneath the beds, _but it was a damn safety hazard_! Sasuke could easily see himself falling off the bed and splitting his head open.

_Then again,_ the raven mused as he sat up, _they wouldn't consider suicide if I _did_ die from falling off the bed. Some kind of freak accident, maybe, but suicide wouldn't cross their minds. _He then snorted, reminding himself that Kakashi would know. Then again, what would the silver-haired man do about it?

Throwing his blankets off himself, Sasuke slid to the end of the bed and jumped to the floor. He remade his bed hurriedly with military-like precision, ensuring every corner was neatly tucked in and the sheets didn't have any kinks in them. Satisfied with his work, he trudged towards his closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a blue shirt. Pulling the clothing on, he snatched up his keys, phone and wallet, putting them into his pockets. He glanced at himself in the mirror behind the door, satisfied with the way his hair looked, despite having just woken up. He used enough gel for it to retain its shape for days on end, anyway.

Deciding he didn't want to be there when his roommate showed up, Sasuke pulled open the door and exited the room. He locked the door behind him, ignoring all the people calling out greetings to him and walked hurriedly down the corridor, ensuring he didn't brush against anyone. He flew down the stairs two at a time, avoiding all the people coming up with boxes and slammed through the front doors.

"Hey, hold the door, will you?" He ignored the blonde boy rushing towards him, turning away from his dorm, letting the door click shut behind him. "Thanks a lot, asshole." The boy muttered under his breath, but Sasuke ignored him, eying him warily. Who in their right mind wore orange, anyway?

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed away from Robson—his dorm—and made his way towards the street so he could head over to Kakashi's. He didn't want to see the man, really, but anything was better than staying there with all those people moving in. Besides, he'd get a decent breakfast this way.

It took him less than two minutes to reach his guardian's door and he knocked on it loudly once he'd reached it. He waited thirty seconds before a very tired Kakashi opened the door, wearing nothing more than a pair of loose drawstring pants and, of course, his mask.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked, glancing blearily at his watch. Sasuke was surprised he even _owned_ one based on the number of times he'd ever actually arrived anywhere on time.

"The caf is closed, and I'm hungry." Without waiting for an invitation, the eighteen year old trudged into the small apartment-like home and headed straight for the kitchen.

"Good morning to you, too." Kakashi closed the door and walked after the other boy.

He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he watched Sasuke raid his fridge before pulling out everything he'd want to make—whatever it was he was making. Kakashi honestly wasn't sure.

"Why do you still wear the mask, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked as he threw some ham into a frying pan. Kakashi winced at the hissing noise it made, but decided to answer the question rather than comment on the noise. He knew Sasuke wouldn't care, and would probably go out of his way to annoy Kakashi further.

"It's nobody's business what my face looks like, Sasuke, what does it matter whether I wear it or not?" He inquired.

"So you'll wear a mask to hide the fact that you look like you father, but you'll keep your eye exposed."

"What's wrong with my eye?" Kakashi frowned, not liking the direction this conversation was going, but he knew if he let Sasuke know this, Sasuke would push it even further.

"It's disgusting." Was Sasuke's reply.

Kakashi had never disturbed himself about his left eye. It had been like that as long as he could remember. Apparently, when he was a child, a piece of glass had fallen into his eye and scratched up his iris, turning his eye blood red. After surgery that left him with a rather nice scar, his eyesight was returned as best they could. He had to wear a contact in that eye, and the redness had reduced to just his iris, but he didn't care. He thought he looked interesting with one brown eye and one red one. It wasn't a combination one saw every day.

As for his face—that was more complicated. There was nothing wrong with the lower half of his face. In fact, most people would call Kakashi an attractive man; or, the few who'd seen his face. Sasuke himself had only seen the man's face five or six times, and he'd lived with him for ten years! It was a delicate topic, and Sasuke usually avoided bringing up the reason behind Kakashi wearing the mask. He'd ask him why he _still _wore it, but he would never stray into the dangerous territory of telling him it was a stupid reason. He'd done that once, and Kakashi had had him in tears for hours with the retort on his brother. Of course, Kakashi had felt guilty about it, but it had taught Sasuke early on never to talk about his mask.

The reason behind the mask had to do with his father. When Kakashi was a child, no older than seven or eight, his father had walked out on his mother. She'd been all right for a while, but when Kakashi turned twelve, he'd come home from school one day and found out she'd hung herself. He'd grown up with a foster family, whom he still kept in contact with even now, but it wasn't the same. When he'd hit sixteen, he'd started wearing the mask. He'd been sent to psychiatrists and doctors almost all over British Columbia, but none could find what was wrong with him, and why he insisted on wearing the mask. At first, they'd assumed the lower half of his face had been damaged somehow, but they soon realized it was nothing physical. It was mostly psychological. Kakashi had begun to resemble his father, and he hated that man for what he'd done to him and his mother. His foster sister had even walked into the bathroom once when he was about to attempt to hack away parts of his face. After serious counselling and another three attempts, Kakashi had finally just accepted he looked like his father. He didn't have to like it, though, which was why he continued to wear the mask. He only took it off to shave, shower, and every couple of nights. He hated having it off for even a second because he ran the risk of catching a glimpse of himself in a reflective surface. He shaved without looking in the mirror, and he avoided looking anywhere reflective in the bathroom while he showered. He didn't want the reminder.

Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts as Sasuke placed two plates on the table, sitting down in one of the empty chairs and beginning to eat. The professor uncrossed his arms and headed towards the table, picking up the plate.

"Thanks." He said as he turned to leave.

"You sure you trust me in here with all these sharp objects?" Sasuke teased in a cold voice.

"You wouldn't have enough time to try anything stupid." Kakashi insisted as he left the room to eat in private, just like he'd done for the past ten years.

* * *

Naruto stared across the room with a frown. It was impossible. There was no way this had happened to him. But there was the proof, staring him right in the face. He, Naruto Uzumaki, the messiest, clumsiest, and dirtiest person he knew—was roomed with a neat freak.

"Tsunade's punishing me for something, I know it." He mumbled to himself. _Maybe it was the water balloon I put on her chair at Christmas._ Naruto winced, thoroughly convinced he was never going to be forgiven for that one.

His head whipped towards the door as he heard the lock turn and he jumped off his bed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He'd been waiting all day to meet his roommate and honestly, it was about damn time! It was pushing midnight, and they had orientation in the morning.

Naruto watched the door swing open and nearly groaned. _Great. Terrific. Not only a neat freak, but an asshole, too._

Sasuke looked the blond before him up and down, standing in the doorway. It almost seemed like he was scared of catching Naruto's bad sense of fashion if he got too close. He had to admit, he was a little peeved that the one person he'd refused to hold the door for ended up being his roommate. Murphy's law.

The two boys stood where they were, both staring at one another with their hands in their pockets. Neither said a word. Generally, introductions would have happened, but Naruto was too stubborn to introduce himself after having been so rudely treated earlier that day. If there was one thing Naruto could hold forever, it was a grudge. Sasuke himself didn't much care whether or not he and his roommate got along. As long as he stayed out of Sasuke's way, to each his own.

Sasuke finally entered the room, walking to his closet and pulling it open. He reached into the first drawer within his closet and pulled out a pair of sweat-pants, also grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste before walking back out the open door.

Naruto sniffed, annoyed. _Fine, _he thought. _If that's how he wants to play it, suits me just fine. As long as the bastard doesn't stay up all night, and doesn't get up too early, we'll get along just fine with not getting along. _Nodding to himself, he turned to his own closet and pulled out a pair of sweat-pants. Since Sasuke was in the bathroom, he stripped and pulled the pants on before dumping his jeans and boxers into his hamper. He pulled off his shirt and threw it onto the back of his desk chair. He liked that shirt, and he didn't care that he'd worn it all day. It could survive another day.

Naruto went to his computer and opened the university web-page to double check his group for the next day before logging off and climbing into bed, turning off the light on his side of the room. He rolled onto his side with his back facing the opposite side of the room and closed his eyes, ready to sleep and not caring if his roommate wasn't.

Sasuke returned seconds after Naruto had settled into bed and stared at the blonde's turned back, glaring daggers at him. So Sasuke had been in a bad mood that morning, it didn't mean Naruto had to be rude. Then again, Sasuke hadn't exactly jumped on the occasion to introduce himself. He wasn't terribly concerned about not getting along with his roommate. If he went through enough of them, maybe they'd get the hint and give him a single to stop the torture.

Throwing his things into his own hamper, the raven walked across the room to his own computer, checking the times and locations again to ensure he knew where he was going. He remembered his group, so he logged out and shut down his computer. He climbed into his bed, pulling back the covers and slipping beneath them. Turning off his own light, he turned his back on his roommate and closed his eyes for sleep.

The room was filled with tension as the two boys drifted off to sleep.

**

* * *

© 2006** **FastForward **


	2. The Prank War Begins

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: No matter how badly Kiba wants to be mine, he isn't, nor is anyone else.**

* * *

Naruto jerked up as if he'd been slapped. That noise. The shrill ringing in his ears—what the fuck _was_ it, and how did he get it to stop?! Naruto began the arduous task of untangling himself from his numerous sheets and covers before his head poked out from the mass of blankets. He grit his teeth angrily at the sight that greeted him. 

_I'm going to kill the fucker,_ he thought angrily. His roommate was nowhere to be seen, his bed perfectly made. And sitting peacefully on the opposite bed was an alarm clock with a note attached to the top.

'_Enjoy your morning, loser.'_

"Fantastic." Naruto grit out angrily, trying to keep his rage in check. "Doesn't even know my name and _already_ I'm getting bad-mouthed. I can _never_ get a break."

Rolling off the bed, and almost killing himself in the process, Naruto practically stomped across the room and shut the stupid alarm clock off. He caught sight of the time and almost hurled the damn thing out the window. It was eight in the morning, and orientation wasn't until eleven. Naruto growled angrily as he crumpled up the note.

Taking a few deep breaths, Naruto was calm enough to ignore the fact that it was so early. He wouldn't get back to sleep, anyway, so he figured he may as well get ready for orientation. With this in mind, we walked to his desk and stared at his chair. He frowned and looked all around his desk before staring at his chair again.

"Where'd my shirt go?" he muttered to himself. He could've sworn he'd put it on the back of the chair the night before. Shrugging, he walked to his closet. Maybe he'd put it away? He rummaged through his drawers and checked all the shirts hanging. After ten minutes, the shirt was still missing in action.

"What the hell did I do with it?" he mumbled as he looked around his half of the room, completely confused. He went to his hamper and pulled out the clothes that were in it, but still his orange shirt was nowhere to be found.

He was just about to start panicking when he noticed another note on the back of the door. He'd been so determined to find his shirt he'd completely missed it. He walked to the door and pulled the note off, reading it.

'_Even though the colour sucks, the shirt is comfortable. Thanks, loser.'_

"I'm going to fucking _kill_ him!" Naruto yelled angrily, crumpling the note in his hand. What the hell was _wrong _with his roommate?! Naruto hadn't done _anything_ to him!

_At least I'll be able to spot him,_ Naruto thought angrily as he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste. _Wearing an orange shirt, he'll be really easy to find, even in the biggest crowd. And when I do... _Naruto smirked to himself as he thought about all the wonderful things he was going to do to his roommate.

He pulled open his bedroom door and only just managed to bite back a scream, knowing his floor would kill him if he woke them up. He sputtered as water ran through his hair and down his naked chest, a bucket hanging limply from a rope now that its contents had emptied themselves onto Naruto. If he hadn't been awake before, he sure as hell was _now_! That water was _cold_!

"Fine, bastard!" Naruto hissed angrily under his breath, his blue eyes flashing with murder. "If you want a war, I'll give you a fucking war!"

* * *

Sasuke stared out the cafeteria window as he nibbled on a piece of toast. He'd been waiting almost an hour for the caf to open, and now that it was, he was the only person there besides the staff. Of course, this didn't surprise him. He was the only person with an internal alarm clock that rang every day at six.

Sasuke smirked as he thought of the time, wondering if his roommate had received his presents yet. A glance at the clock confirmed he would be awake by now and, hopefully, he'd have had his little 'shower'. Sasuke's smirk widened.

Generally, Sasuke wasn't one for practical jokes, but since he wanted to get rid of his roommate, and they'd started out so badly _anyway_, he figured he'd see how much shit his roommate could take before he requested a room change. Sasuke had it all planned out perfectly. There was no way anything could go wrong.

He pulled at the collar of the shirt that wasn't his and grinned down at it. Yes, orange was a disgusting colour, but _damn_ was this shirt comfortable. He could understand why his roommate was going to wear it again today. Of course, the shirt was about two sizes too big for Sasuke, but it wasn't _his_ fault he was thin and somewhat gangly. He hadn't gotten a good look at his roommate, but from what he could tell, he'd been pretty buff.

A voice across the cafeteria interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to follow it.

"Morning, Vangie! How are you today?" the blond said with a bright smile to the woman sitting at the checkout. He'd obviously read her name-tag.

"Morning—Naruto." Vangie replied, seeing his name on her screen from when he swiped his card.

_Hn,_ Sasuke thought. _Naruto, huh? Weird name. _He stared at Naruto and noticed his hair wasn't the least bit damp. That meant someone had removed his present. Sasuke sighed and turned back to the window.

"I'm good. First day?" Vangie asked Naruto.

"Sure is. S'why I have such a big breakfast." Naruto grinned at her as he motioned his loaded tray.

"Have fun."

"Thanks, have a good day, Vangie."

"You too, Naruto."

Naruto picked up his tray and headed to the side of the checkout to grab some utensils. He spotted Sasuke by the window in his peripheral vision, but ignored him. He'd already gotten everything he'd need for Sasuke's little gifts, and he was more than ready to set them up later that night, when he knew Sasuke would be back in the room. He had no reason to outwardly show that Sasuke had gotten to him. Besides, if the bastard wanted a war, Naruto would comply. And Naruto would most _definitely_ win.

The two sat at opposite ends of the cafeteria, completely ignoring each other. Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the chair, not looking forward to being surrounded by people who would stare and judge him. He knew there was nothing he could do to change it, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

About ten minutes later, a group of loud, screaming guys entered the cafeteria, joking with each other. Well, mostly one of the guys was screaming, but they all seemed to be having a good time. They got food and continued chatting as they got through the checkout, headed in Naruto's general direction.

"Hey, dude! You live on my floor!" one of them exclaimed as he plopped his tray down in front of Naruto. "Cool if I sit?"

"Yeah, sure." Naruto grinned as the boy sat down in front of him, the others making their way towards him.

"I saw you around yesterday while you were getting your stuff set up. You have a double, right?"

"Yeah."

"I live two doors down. I'm Kiba Inuzuka." He held out his hand, and Naruto shook it.

"Naruto." If Kiba noticed he hadn't given his last name, he didn't mention it.

"More names to remember?" a new boy asked as he sat down beside Kiba. "How troublesome."

"Shut up, you lazy fuck." Kiba smirked at the new arrival. "This is Shikamaru Nara. He lives on third. He's best friends with one of my neighbours; s'how I met him."

"Hey." Naruto nodded to him. Shikamaru just started eating without another word as the last two boys took their seats.

"This is Chouji Akimichi, my neighbour on the right, and he's Shino Aburame, my neighbour on the left. Guys, this is Naruto."

"Do you live in Robson?" Shino asked as he opened a bottle of water.

"Yeah, I live on second." Naruto replied.

He cast a glance at Sasuke to see if he cared about being excluded, but the raven appeared to be content staring out the window. Naruto didn't even know why he cared whether Sasuke felt left out of not, the guy was an asshole.

Kiba noticed him looking elsewhere and turned to see what he was staring at. His dark eyes fixed on Sasuke, and he turned back to Naruto. "Friend of yours?"

"_Hell_ no." Naruto replied, looking back at Kiba with a smirk. "Roommate. Real asshole. Didn't even introduce himself."

"Fuck." Kiba cussed, turning around to look at Sasuke again. "Sounds like you're going to have a tough year."

"Whatever." Naruto shrugged as he drank his milk. "Not the end of the world, right?"

"Hey, asshole!" Naruto jumped as Kiba called out to Sasuke. The raven turned his head slowly, a look of indifference on his face. "Want to come join your roommate and apologize, or are you content with just sitting there?"

Kiba's reply was Sasuke turning his head to look out the window again. Kiba huffed and turned back to Naruto.

"Yep, you're right. Asshole."

* * *

Sasuke opened the bedroom door with a loud sigh. That had been by _far_ the _worst_ day of his life—minus the obvious day. Every girl who'd seen him had tried to permanently attach herself to him. He was used to it, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He also hadn't considered the fact that wearing orange would attract _more_ attention, so he'd had _double_ the number of girls clinging to him than he usually did.

With a grumble, Sasuke pulled the shirt off and threw it into his roommate's hamper. Said roommate was nowhere to be found. Idly, Sasuke wondered if he'd already scared the guy off. After all, he'd woken him up at eight, and then stolen what appeared to be his favourite shirt. Sasuke was still pretty sure he hadn't gotten the water dumped on his head, which was a shame, but he could try again.

He padded over to his closet and put his hand on the handle to pull it open. He jerked it back as if he'd been burned, and stared at his hand in disgust. He had no idea what it was, but it smelled slightly like a mixture of lotion, soap and it was sticky enough to suggest there was some glue involved. The little bastard had put shit on his closet handle!

"Hn." Sasuke walked to his bedside and grabbed his tissue box, wiping his hand clean before going to the closet and wiping down the handle. Satisfied, he pulled open his closet door—and received a mountain of shaving cream on the head.

Sasuke stood at his closet, staring in disbelief as shaving cream continued to slowly make its way down his face and onto his bare chest.

"I'd say he got my present." he grumbled under his breath. Fantastic. So, not only was his roommate going to put up with the torture, he was going to torture right back. Well _fine_!

Sasuke grabbed his keys and stormed to the bathroom after locking his door, hastily washing the white gunk from his hair. His mind didn't work fast enough for him to be able to retaliate immediately, and he knew it would be a while before his roommate could expect something else from him, but he didn't want to wait. This guy—he wanted him _out_!

Upon returning to the room, Sasuke pulled his roommate's blankets off his bed and began rearranging everything. Satisfied with his work, he replaced the top blankets the same way they had been before and moved back to his half of the room. He stripped and got his things ready for the next day, the first day of classes. Once he was ready for bed, he forewent brushing his teeth and hopped up into bed, pulling his blankets back. He got under them and turned off the light before lying down.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. Why did his head feel—cold? And very, very wet? The sensation began to move down his back and he sat up, turning around to look at his pillow.

"Loser!" he growled angrily as he noticed his pillow. It was completely soaked through. How he'd missed that, he had no idea, but he was damn well going to make the blonde bastard pay!

Grumbling, the raven jumped off the bed and pulled the soggy pillow off, throwing it onto Naruto's bed and grabbing Naruto's pillow. He didn't have any more sheets, so he'd have to settle for tonight and get some more from Kakashi later. There was _no_ way he was going to use Naruto's sheets. God only knew what he'd done on them.

Climbing back into bed and settling down for sleep, Sasuke heard the door open. His back was to the door, so he just pretended to be asleep.

Naruto walked into the room, not really caring if Sasuke was asleep or not.

"See you tomorrow, guys!" he called down the corridor, others calling back to him. He shut the door with a bang and trudged towards his closet. His eyes fell on the wet pillow on his bed and he smirked, grabbing it and throwing it on the floor at the foot of Sasuke's bed. His blankets were thick, and he doubted the water had seeped through unless the pillow had been there for half an hour or so. He reached under his bed and pulled out a spare pillow after noticing his was gone.

Banging around loudly in the room, he got ready for bed, foregoing the bathroom in favour of extra sleep time. Checking his schedule, he sighed and set his alarm for seven, since he had an eight o'clock class.

Once he was ready, he pulled back his covers and jumped up onto his bed. Slipping his feet under his blankets, he let out a startled yelp as his legs and feet drew up short, stopping at a barrier that had magically appeared halfway down his bed. Confused, Naruto jumped off his bed and pulled back all his blankets, only to frown in annoyance. _That asshole! He short-sheeted me! _(1)

Letting out a colourful string of curses that Sasuke smirked at, Naruto undid his bed completely before setting about remaking it. After he was done, he cursed as he realized he had to go to the bathroom. Trusting Sasuke to wake up if someone opened their door, he left the door unlocked as he went down the hall, but he still brought his keys in case the jerk decided to lock him out and make him go to the commons block for a spare key.

Once he was done in the bathroom, he returned to the room, satisfied when the door opened easily. He threw his keys onto the shelf by the door on his side of the room and closed it, locking it behind himself. He stretched as he made his way to his bed, jumping back in and putting his feet under the blankets. He bit back a curse as his feet drew up short again and shot an angered look across the room at Sasuke, who still had his back to him. How the jerk had managed to short-sheet him _again_ in so short a time, he didn't know, but he knew one thing for certain: this was going to be a _long_ year.

* * *

Two heads shot up at the sound of an alarm clock ringing shrilly in the morning. It was Sasuke's, and he let it ring just a _little_ longer than normal to ensure his roommate was good and awake. It didn't matter either way, because only about twenty seconds after Sasuke's alarm clock rang, Naruto's began to ring as well. Sasuke couldn't help but grumble as he realized it didn't matter that he'd let the alarm ring longer than usual, because Naruto was getting up too, anyway.

The two boys slowly got out of bed, completely ignoring each other. Sasuke headed for his closet while Naruto went to his computer, moving the mouse to bring it out of sleep mode. He never turned off his computer; he saw no reason to.

"Of course." he grumbled to himself. "First thing every Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Chemistry."

Sasuke's head snapped towards Naruto's turned back, his hand in mid-air since he was just about to grab a shirt. _Oh, great,_ Sasuke thought, annoyed. _Fantastic. First thing in the morning with **him**!_ Sighing, he took all of his things and left the room, ensuring he grabbed his keys so the blond idiot wouldn't lock him out.

Again, since Sasuke was gone, Naruto got changed in the room. It was probably going to turn into a habit between the two of them, but he didn't care. He preferred changing in the room, anyway. Once he was dressed in his jeans and a light blue T-shirt, he grabbed his orange hoodie and threw it on over his head before plopping back in front of his computer to check his email, putting his phone and wallet in his pockets.

Sasuke returned a few seconds after Naruto had sat down, also wearing jeans with a black shirt and a dark blue hoodie. He scoffed as he noticed the orange sweater and shook his head, throwing his dirty laundry into the hamper. Without another word, Sasuke grabbed his books and began to leave the room to head off for breakfast, leaving the blond alone.

Sasuke stopped with his hand on the doorknob, smirking to himself. Naruto would be left alone in the room, this was true, but what if Naruto couldn't _leave_? Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, ensuring he wasn't paying attention. He went to his dresser and pulled open the top drawer, rummaging inside for some string he knew he'd kept to put something up back home. Finding it, he pulled it out and turned to look at Naruto again. Without a word, he smirked and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Once outside, Sasuke knocked on the door across the hall. He tried it and the door opened easily. He looked inside, seeing the room was completely empty. No one lived there. Perfect. He turned back to his door and unravelled some of the string, tying the end around the doorknob. Whistling some random tune, Sasuke then looped the string around the doorknob across the hall before looping it around his doorknob again. He did this a few times until he was sure it wouldn't just tear if Naruto pulled hard enough, and then tied it off. Picking up his books, he admired his work and nodded.

"Have a good day, loser." He smirked as he turned on his heel and walked down the corridor.

Inside the room, Naruto thought he'd heard Sasuke say something, but he ignored it. He didn't care what the bastard had to say. Glancing at the clock, he decided it was late enough to go get breakfast so he logged out and snatched his schedule off the billboard in between the two desks. He grabbed his bag from beside his desk as he got to his feet and headed for the door. Grabbing his keys on the way by, he turned the handle and pulled open the door. Nothing happened. Naruto frowned and tried again, tugging hard. Still nothing.

"What the—?" Naruto put his things down and grabbed the doorknob in both hands, put one foot against the wall, and pushed off. The door gave a little, but hardly. There was only enough space for him to peer through and see what the hell was going on. Keeping the door open slightly, he looked through the small gap and almost pulled his hair out. His fucking roommate had screwed him over _again_! Naruto decided he'd have to be more careful from now on.

"Stupid bastard." he muttered as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He went down his contact list and hit the call button when he reached the name he wanted.

"Yeah, what?" a half-asleep voice asked on the other end.

"My fucking roommate locked me in!" Naruto burst out angrily before he could stop himself.

"Wait, what? What do you _mean_ he locked you in?" Kiba sat up in bed two doors down, rubbing his eyes.

"He tied off some string outside! Come over with a pair of scissors and let me out, will you?" Naruto heard shuffling and then a door down the hall opened.

"Holy shit!" He heard Kiba exclaim, in the hall and over the phone. There was laughter after that as Kiba hung up, his voice echoing down the corridor. He continued to laugh as he reached Naruto's door and looked in through the gap. "Having a good morning?"

"Ha, very funny. Let me out." Naruto grumbled annoyed.

"Calm down, fuck." Kiba insisted as he began to cut the string.

Naruto couldn't help but notice Kiba said the word 'fuck' a lot. It was a little strange, but Naruto didn't care how much people swore, so he paid it no mind. He assumed Kiba had never really been allowed to swear at home, so now that he was in university, away from the parental units, he was going to swear as much as possible.

A few seconds later, Kiba pushed the door open and smirked at Naruto. "There. All better. Want me to hold your hand on the way to class, too?" Naruto just gave him a look before pushing past him with his things and locking the door.

"Thanks, Kiba."

"Yeah, no sweat." Kiba rubbed the back of his head as he looked down the corridor. "Hey, you heading to class?"

"Breakfast."

"Solid, wanna give me two minutes to throw some clothes on? I'm up, anyway, and I've got class at ten."

"You _do_ realize it's seven-thirty, right?" Naruto inquired. Kiba just shrugged as he walked back to his room.

"Whatever. I'll surf the net." He disappeared into his room and Naruto sighed, staring at his door. He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was trying to make a hole in the wood with his glare, but he couldn't help it. His roommate had been a jerk to him since before they even met. What the hell had Naruto ever done to deserve it?!

"One thing's for sure, I'm paying his ass back for this." Naruto grumbled as Kiba exited his room, pulling on a grey hoodie.

The two of them walked to the commons block and got food from the caf. Once they were through the checkout and sitting down, Naruto noticed Sasuke sitting a little further away from him, looking very annoyed with two girls that were on either side of him. Naruto smirked, enjoying his annoyance. Especially after what the asshole had done to _him_.

"You gonna pay him back?" Naruto turned back to Kiba, who was currently devouring an omelette.

"'Course." Naruto smirked. "Who wouldn't?"

"Solid. Got any ideas?" Kiba asked, a glint in his dark brown eyes as he considered the mischief Naruto would be causing.

Naruto's smirk widened. "A few. You got any ideas?"

"Of course. I was the biggest prankster ever in my high school." Kiba wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve before taking a large gulp of orange juice.

"Yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"Why don't we make the pay-back fit the crime, hey?" Kiba winked at him. Naruto's grin ran the risk of splitting his face in two. He liked this guy. He reminded Naruto of himself.

"So for this one, what do you have in mind?" Naruto asked as he began to eat his cereal.

"I haven't got anything as low-tech as this. I need the big shit."

"Right. Guess I'll figure something out." Naruto pondered this for a moment as he chewed his cereal. He noticed Sasuke getting up and leaving in his peripheral vision, but the girls remained. They were pretty hot; he'd probably end up trying to chat them up.

"You're in Sciences, right?" Kiba inquired, pointing his fork at Naruto.

"Yep. And you're in Arts."

"Got your schedule? I wanna check some stuff out, see if we mix and match." Kiba took another bite of his omelette.

Naruto rummaged through his bag and pulled out his schedule, scanning it. He then frowned as his eyes fell on the course he had after Chemistry. He didn't take French. What the—_shit!_ Naruto groaned as two things dawned on him. Firstly, he had Chemistry with his asshole of a roommate, and secondly, he'd grabbed the wrong schedule.

"Shit." he groaned. "I grabbed the wrong schedule. Now I have to walk around all day with that bastard's—" Naruto cut himself off as a flash of pink caught his attention and he turned back to the two girls who'd been hanging off his roommate.

Naruto looked down at the schedule in his hand, a wicked smirk on his face. His bastard roommate appeared to hate girls hanging all over him, and here he sat with what could be considered a gold mine to any and every girl who had the hots for said roommate. By giving this to the two girls at the other table, it ensured that they would try and run into him as often as possible, which meant he would be annoyed _all_ the time.

"You look like the cat that just caught the canary." Naruto turned back to Kiba, grinning widely.

"Caught, chewed and swallowed, my friend. I'll be right back." Naruto stood up and headed towards the two girls who were just about finished their breakfast. They eyed him warily as he approached, and plopped down right across from them.

"Hello, ladies." Naruto flashed them his most charming smile. "How would you like me to be your new best friend?" The blonde girl before him scoffed.

"Yeah, dream on." She began to stand, but Naruto wouldn't let her get that far.

"No, I'm serious. That guy you were talking to? He's my roommate." That got her attention, as well as the attention of the pink-haired girl next to her, who'd been ignoring him so far.

"You're Sasuke's roommate?" _Finally,_ he thought annoyed. _He's got a name. Sasuke._

"Yeah." He leaned back in his chair, throwing his arm across the back of the chair next to him. "In fact, I've even got his schedule right here." He held up the slip of paper.

Both girls stared at the sheet of paper as if it were made of gold. Naruto could see the blonde's hand twitching to grab the sheet from his grasp and have it all to herself. He smirked, knowing this was possibly the best revenge ever for what Sasuke had done to him.

"All right, what do you want for it?" the pink-haired girl asked with a sigh. Everything came with a price, and she knew it.

Naruto shrugged. "The names of two of the prettiest girls in the university. How about it?" He grinned at her.

"Sakura Haruno."

"Ino Yamanaka."

"Well, ladies, it was a pleasure doing business with you." He threw the schedule on the table, letting the two of them fight it out. "I'll be seeing you." He gave them a two-fingered salute before turning away and heading back to Kiba.

Kiba was shaking his head as the blond made his way back towards him. "Naruto, you are an evil, evil man."

"I try." Naruto grinned.

* * *

(1) A few people have asked me what exactly short-sheeting is. I don't really know how to explain it perfectly, but basically, it's when you take someone's sheet and fold it over in the middle of the bed so that when they put their feet under their sheets, they hit the folded over bit. I'm not really sure how it works, to be honest, as I've never succeeded in doing it, but I do know someone who does it, so it's definitely possible, lol.

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	3. Req for Being a Uni Prof: Insanity I

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Seeing as how Naruto and the others aren't mine, do you think K. Masashi will lend me Kiba every once in a while so I can cuddle with him? **

**PS: OMG! REVIEWS :3 LOVE REVIEWS! Thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed this :) It makes me happy and inspires me to write faster. Enjoy the new chapter. **

* * *

**Requirement for Being a University Professor: Insanity I**

Sasuke took a seat in the second row of Wesbrook's lecture hall. The professor was already there, looking something over with a white-haired man with glasses. The two were talking intently, and Sasuke attempted to listen in, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. After a few minutes, the white-haired man left and the professor turned around to survey the students walking in. His eyes fell on Sasuke and, with a wicked smirk, he sauntered over to the nineteen year old.

"Good morning." Sasuke refrained from leaning back as the professor leaned forward.

"Morning."

"And who might you be?" Sasuke winced inwardly as the professor gave him a once over.

"Sasuke Uchiha." he replied evenly.

"Sasuke, huh?" He reached out with his hand and Sasuke _did_ lean back this time. Instead of going for his face, like he'd thought the professor was doing, he brushed something off Sasuke's shoulder before leaning back. "Welcome to my class."

Sasuke couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as the professor moved away from him. He made a mental note to sit at the _back_ of the class for the remainder of the term. He didn't want a repeat of what had just happened.

At exactly eight o'clock, the professor settled himself at the front to begin, and Sasuke smirked as he noticed Naruto wasn't there. He hadn't seen him in the caf earlier that morning, so he didn't know the blond had escaped. Idly, he wondered if Naruto would ever be able to leave the room without help.

As if his thoughts had conjured him up, the blonde slammed through the doors at the front of the class just as the professor opened his mouth to speak. His head snapped towards the figure who had dared interrupt him, and he smiled the widest smile Sasuke had ever seen on a human being.

"Naruto. How nice of you to join us. You only left sixty other students waiting."

"Sorry." the blond mumbled as he headed for the nearest seat.

"You will not turn your back on me while I'm speaking to you, Naruto Uzumaki!" Sasuke's eyes widened and his head snapped towards the blond. _Uzumaki?!_

Naruto tensed as he reached his seat, sitting in it hurriedly and pulling his books out, avoiding eye contact with everyone, and ignoring the professor's words. It was obvious he'd only wanted an excuse to say his last name so everyone would know who he was. And knew they did, for the second the name had left the professor's lips, everyone was whispering and pointing at him.

Sasuke was the only one just staring at Naruto with wide eyes, and not talking to anyone. His roommate was the son of Minako and Arashi Uzumaki? And Sasuke had thought _he'd_ had it bad. People pitied him, sure, but hardly anyone remembered the Uchiha name anymore, and this had only happened ten years ago compared to the seventeen years it had been since what became known as _The Uzumaki Incident_.

"Yes, remember this face, ladies and gentlemen." The professor walked towards Naruto and turned his head so people at the back could see. Naruto roughly shook free of his grasp, staring down at his table with clenched fists. "Lord only knows if he'll take after mother, or father."

"I see nothing wrong with him." a calm, collected voice said from the doorway. All eyes turned to look at the three who'd just entered the room. The professor looked the one who'd spoken up and down, sneering viciously.

"And who might _you_ be?" he demanded.

"Gaara Sabaku." was the easy reply.

The professor visibly paled as the boy began walking forward, the two behind him—who could only be his siblings—walking along with him. Without a word, he sat down beside Naruto, crossing his arms over his chest. He had no books or bag; almost as if he was so confident he knew what was going on that he didn't need them. Naruto shot him a glance, but averted his eyes again when green eyes glanced at him.

Everyone knew the Sabaku family. Sabaku was the biggest sponsor for UBC, and also happened to be the biggest company in the world for technological developments. The Sabaku family was rich, and the three kids were spoiled excessively because of it. None of them acted it, though, preferring to blend in with the crowd and just be like anyone else. The only one who always stood out was Gaara, the youngest of the triplets. This was because at the age of nine, he'd brutally murdered his mother to defend his sister from a beating. Many wondered if he'd intended to kill her, or if it had been an accident—the boy had only been nine, after all. Either way, it didn't matter. He had an aura about him that made even his siblings nervous, so despite loving him, they were terrified of him.

"Well," the professor cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I never expected to have Temari, Kankurou and Gaara Sabaku in my Chemistry class. I suppose we should get started."

Naruto almost heaved a sigh of relief as he was ignored, everyone preferring to focus on the triplets who'd walked in. They were far more interesting than him, and he was thankful.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Naruto's head snapped towards Gaara. He hadn't thought he'd said that out loud, but Gaara's reply confirmed he had. The redhead turned to Naruto with a bored expression, his arms still crossed. "I know what it's like to be treated like that." Naruto couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah. Guess we're two of a kind."

"I guess so." Someone cleared their throat loudly, and both turned to face the front again.

"Now that I've got your undivided attention, let us begin. My name is Orochimaru Sannin, and I will be your Chemistry professor for this term. Rest assured, you will all hate me before the end of the hour. The first thing I would like to do is clear up any misconceptions about the course. Any of you sitting here believing it will be easy, you are sorely mistaken. It will be very, very hard. I fail more than eighty percent of the class every year, and this year will be no different. If you don't understand, tough, get a tutor. I'm not your personal go-to person for Chemistry; I just give you lectures and exams." Orochimaru began to pace.

"Speaking of exams, you will be having six exams this year, two every month. They are worth eight percent of your grade, and your final is worth fifty percent." He smirked wickedly at the groans he heard. "In addition to these six exams, you will have two essays and a practical, which will be supervised by my assistant, Kabuto Yakushi. Some of you may have him as your lab TA."

"Excuse me, sir?" Temari put her hand up.

"What?" he snarled, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Are we going to receive dates for these exams?" The smirk was back full-force.

"Of course not. If I told you in advance, half of you would just show up for them and never attend the class. Know that if you miss even _one_ exam, you fail the course. I don't care if you were sick, your cat just died, or you were out of town. Miss one, and you fail."

Sasuke could hear everyone around him murmuring in discontent, but he said nothing. He'd graduated with a perfect 4.0 average, and he'd already checked out the book. It all seemed pretty basic, and he wasn't concerned with not understanding.

Naruto, on the other hand, knew he'd have to work really hard. He was really bad at Chemistry, and adding in the fact that Orochimaru was teaching it, he knew he had about one chance in a million of passing this course. But, he wouldn't let Orochimaru know he'd gotten to him, so he'd stick it out and hope to God a miracle happened.

After the introductions, Orochimaru launched into the first lesson, even though normally, the first class was spent on lesson plans and introductions, and then the students were dismissed. Apparently, this guy was not kidding when he said they would all hate him.

"What faculty are you in?" Naruto turned to Gaara, stunned, almost dropping his pencil.

"P-pardon?"

"Faculty." Gaara repeated, staring straight ahead with his arms still crossed.

"Oh, I'm in Sciences. You?"

"HKIN." Naruto frowned and Gaara turned to him. "Human Kinetics."

"Oh, right. You must have some of the same classes as me, then."

"Probably a few. What do you have next?" Naruto wracked his brain, trying to remember since he hadn't had time to return to his room for his schedule.

"Math, I believe. In the Math Annex behind Koerner Library."

"Me too." Gaara faced the front again. "We can head over together."

Naruto grinned at the billionaire's son. "Sure thing."

* * *

Sasuke plopped down in his seat in Buchanan, looking around at the half-empty room. He'd made it in time for his French class, and made a note to tell the professor that he'd probably be late a lot since Orochimaru seemed to enjoy talking. It was going to be a hassle getting from Wesbrook to Buchanan all the time.

The door opened and a woman bustled into the room, putting her folder on the desk at the front, and turning to the class. She smiled brightly and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. She was wearing red contact lenses. He made a mental note to introduce her to Kakashi, if the grey-haired man didn't already know her.

"Good morning, everyone. I trust you all had a relaxing summer and have successfully adapted to university life. I know it's a bit of a change, but you'll get used to it in no time." She leaned back against the desk. "My name is Kurenai Yuuhi. You may call me Kurenai, or _madame_. Since this is the first day, I will refrain from speaking French, but please note that I _will_ not speak English at all starting next class. This is a French class, and if you are unable to follow me, you are in a level that is too high for you, and I recommend talking to the head of languages."

"Excuse me, miss Kurenai!" Sasuke turned to see who'd spoken. A boy wearing a green hoodie with the most ridiculous haircut he'd ever seen had his hand raised. He couldn't help but think he reminded him of someone. "Are you going to let us know if we aren't advanced enough to be in this class?"

"Lee, she isn't here to tell you what your level is, that was what _last year_ was for." a girl beside him muttered. Her black hair was up in two buns on either side of her head, and Sasuke thought she looked a little too young to be in university.

"Ah, second years." Kurenai smiled at the two at the back. "If you've taken this course before and failed by a lot, chances are it's too advanced for you. However, if you just barely failed, you probably just had bad luck."

"Excellent!" Sasuke's eyebrows shot up as the boy named Lee jumped from his seat, both hands in the air. "I failed by two percent, and I am determined to pass this year! I cannot shame myself more at the height of my youth!"

"For God's sake, Lee, sit down!" the girl hissed, tugging on his sweater.

"But Tenten, we must always celebrate our youth, for it will not last forever!" The girl groaned and let him go, apparently giving up.

Kurenai smiled at his enthusiasm, and walked around the desk, opening her folder and pulling out sheets of paper.

"I will hand out the syllabus and answer any questions you may have. Since this is the first day, I won't be starting the course, and I apologize to anyone who commuted here to listen to me talk for a mere five minutes." She was about to hand out the syllabus when the door slammed open.

"Sasuke! What a surprise!" Sasuke almost slammed his head against the table.

"Out of the way, Ino-pig!"

"Shove it, large-forehead!" Kurenai cleared her throat and the two girls at the door looked at her.

"It's all very nice you have a friend here, but I don't appreciate having my class disrupted."

"Of course, we're sorry." The two girls hurried to Sasuke, each taking a seat on either side of him. For some unknown reason, Sasuke had a feeling them showing up wasn't an accident, but he couldn't put his finger on why he was thinking that. The only thing he kept seeing in his mind was a blond head and azure eyes.

* * *

Naruto sneezed violently in his seat, shaking his head to clear his vision.

"Are you going to live?" Gaara inquired from beside him, sitting with his arms crossed and nothing on his table.

"I'll be fine." Naruto rubbed his nose before continuing to take his books out.

"Why are you bothering with the books?" Gaara inquired, watching him pull them out. "It's the first day, we don't learn anything."

"We learned in Orochimaru's class." Naruto pointed out.

"_I_ know more about Chemistry than that professor did." Gaara said indifferently. "He was a joke."

"Would I be pushing my luck if I asked you to help me out in Chem, then?" Naruto asked hopefully. The look Gaara gave him forced him to look down at his table or risk losing his eyes.

"I don't help people." Gaara admitted as he faced the front again. "I believe that anyone who can't understand something on their own has no reason to take the course. If they don't understand it themselves, they probably never will." Naruto winced. That was a little harsh.

The door opened before Naruto could say anything and all heads turned to regard the man walking in. He wore a long overcoat and a hat, and surveyed the small class as he walked to the desk. He had scars on his face, and Naruto could see burn marks peeking out from underneath his hat. He shot a look at Gaara, but the redhead didn't react.

"So, you're the sorry lot I'm failing this year." He smirked at them as he dropped his folder on the table in front of him. "Should be fun having you all whimpering during the final."

Naruto paled. He'd only had two classes so far, and _already_ he felt like he wasn't going to survive the year.

"He's not that bad." Naruto's head snapped to his left as he heard someone speak. He hadn't even noticed someone had sat down beside him. "He just tries to psyche you out. He hates having big classes, so he scares people into transferring to another section."

"Uh, thanks." Naruto said, unsure of why this random person had spoken to him. He noticed the boy was sitting the exact same way Gaara was—arms crossed, back straight, and an empty desk in front of him.

The professor appeared to have heard him, though, because he smirked at the boy sitting next to Naruto.

"Neji Hyuuga. Back for more pain and torture?" he inquired.

"Hardly, Ibiki. You're the only professor I can put up with, and since I didn't take Math 120 last year, I'm taking it this year."

"Careful, Hyuuga. You might make the others decide to stay, and then, I'd be grouchy." The boy merely let a small smirk form on his lips. "Listen up, 'cause I'll only say this once. My name is Ibiki Morino, and I've been teaching this course for twenty years. Longer than half of you have been alive, by the looks of it." He began to pace at the front of the room, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his overcoat. "This term will be long, it will be hard, and it will be damn near impossible for you to pass. Onto my rules: those of you who are planning on skipping, don't. I take attendance, and I take off five percent every time you do not come. If you had a valid reason, you let me know, and I will either erase or keep the five percent deduction."

"What do you mean 'erase or keep'?" someone at the back of the room asked. Ibiki smirked.

"If your reason isn't good enough, I'll stick with the five percent deduction."

"Will we know how many times you've added five percent to our names?" Naruto inquired. Ibiki laughed at this.

"No, you won't. You could very well be taking the final exam with zero percent already written beside your name. That's why I advise you don't skip. Rule number two!" Everyone but Neji and Gaara jumped as he yelled this, slamming his fist on the table in front of him. "You will each be given one of three different homework assignments. I do not tolerate copying or cheating. Anyone found out will lose another five percent, again, unknown to you. Rule number three," he held up three fingers, "all midterms and exams will take place in this room, but none of you will be sitting next to each other. I tell you this now: there is no talking, no sharing calculators, and no arriving late. If you do any of the above, I will deduct a certain percentage from your exam."

Naruto groaned inwardly as he listened. _It's like no matter what we do, he'll find ways to deduct marks._ He sighed. _He's as bad as Orochimaru._

"Don't look so distraught." Naruto turned to Neji, who had fixed his grey gaze on him. "His rules are necessary for a math class of this level. If you don't break any of them, you're fine. I didn't lose a single percent when I had him last year. It's all basic common knowledge." Naruto smiled gratefully.

"Thanks. I was getting worried about this year. I've had a tough morning, and it's barely started."

"What did you have before this?" Neji inquired as Ibiki continued to spew out his speech on losing percentages. Neji had had Ibiki twice, this being his third time. He knew all the rules by heart, and he'd tell Naruto if he needed a recap.

"Chemistry, with Orochimaru Sannin." Neji made a face.

"Worst prof ever. I had him last year. Passed his class with a seventy-three."

"Shit, lucky you. I'll probably fail." Naruto mumbled.

"Just stay on his good side."

"I'm already on his bad side." Naruto sighed. "His sister is best friends with my grandmother, so I see him all the time. He hated my father because of something, so he hates me."

"That sucks. If you need a tutor, I tutor Sociology and Sport, Math and Chemistry." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What faculty are you in to be taking Sociology and Sport?"

"HKIN."

"Hey, Gaara's in that faculty, too, aren't you Gaara?" The blond turned to the redhead on his other side, who merely glanced at Neji before nodding curtly and turning his attention back to the professor. "And yeah, I could definitely use a tutor in Chem. Math, I'm not so bad at. I'm just worried about losing marks for breathing too loudly." Naruto shot a glance at the professor, who was now busy drawing a table on the board indicating all the ways marks could be lost.

"Ibiki's a kitten, I swear." Neji insisted. "I'm Neji Hyuuga, by the way." He held out his hand.

"I'm Naruto." Naruto shook it. Neji nodded.

"Nice to meet you."

"All right!" They turned back to Ibiki as he practically hollered this. "Now that I've set all the ground rules, get out of my sight! I'll see some of you next class. As for the ones I won't see," he smirked evilly, "it's been great. Don't have too many nightmares."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the speed in which Ibiki grabbed his things and disappeared from the room. Apparently, he wasn't the only one, because people around him were whispering about it, as well.

"Well, Gaara, Neji, it was nice meeting the two of you. I'll see you in our respective classes next time."

"Bye." Neji replied as Gaara nodded slightly.

"Have a good day!" Naruto bolted out of the class, wanting to find his next class before it started.

* * *

Naruto pushed open the door of his Buchanan B class, and groaned. Sasuke-bastard was there, _again_. So that meant he had _two_ courses with him. Fantastic. His eyes scanned the rest of the people and he grinned as he recognized the two girls on either side of Sasuke, not to mention he knew virtually everyone in the room so far.

Naruto headed towards Kiba, who was seated in the front row, dropping his bag on the seat beside him while looking at the girls behind him.

"Hey, hey, ladies! It's you again." He ignored Sasuke, looking at both girls.

"Oh! Naruto, right?" Sakura asked, smiling at him. "Thanks _so_ much for the present this morning, it was appreciated."

"I hope you're putting Sasuke's schedule to good use." Sasuke's head snapped towards the blond and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Naruto just smirked as he faced forward again, nodding a greeting to Kiba.

_Well, that explains a lot, _Sasuke mused. _Payback for locking him in the room. Looks like our war is still going. I was sure he was going to back down, put apparently, I was wrong. _

The class had started a few minutes after Naruto's arrival with still no sign of the professor. Sasuke was too busy staring daggers at his roommate's back to notice how late the professor was.

Twenty minutes into the class, the door at the front opened, and the professor lazily made his way to the desk.

Naruto stared at him as he walked, utterly confused as to why he was wearing a mask. He heard something bang behind him and spun around to see Sasuke's head flat against the desk. He'd slammed his head on the table.

"Nice to see you, too, Sasuke." the professor commented.

"You did it on purpose." the raven accused.

"Of course I did." The professor dropped his folder on his desk and leaned back against it, crossing his arms and surveying the class. "Only nine people. Not surprising for a university writing class." He turned to pull a sheet of paper out of his folder. "Okay, just so you all know, I take attendance every class. Since there are only nine of you, I'll probably get to know you all very well, and expect me to know your names. I'll notice if you're absent, and trust me, it would be in your best interest _not_ to skip this class." He gave Sasuke a poignant look.

Naruto raised his hand and the professor nodded. "Why do all the professors assume we're going to skip?"

"Because you can." he replied easily. "Well, let's get started, then. My name is Kakashi Hatake. You will call me Kakashi, or you will not talk to me at all. I'm not old enough to be called Mr. Hatake yet, so don't do it. Expect me to be at least twenty minutes late for every class, but I advise you to be on time, because the one time you're late, I'll be on time. That is called Murphy's Law." He glanced at the attendance in his hand. "I'm going to want to learn your names right off the bat, so I'll call roll. I want you to tell me—and the rest of your classmates—your faculty, so that everyone here can get to know one another. You'll all be together for a long time, so I suggest you get used to it now." He cleared his throat and referred to the attendance. "Shino Aburame." A solitary hand rose behind Sasuke.

"I'm in Engineering."

"An engineer, huh?" Kakashi's eyes curved to show he was smiling. "Good luck, you'll need it. Chouji Akimichi."

Naruto looked around as Chouji raised his hand, and he noticed he knew half the class. The entire class, actually, minus one girl, who he'd never seen before.

"Arts." Naruto looked back at Chouji as he spoke.

"Ah, Arts. Of course. All lazy bums go into Arts." Half the class frowned at his comment, but he continued before anyone could speak. "Next, Sakura Haruno."

"Arts." she replied coldly from behind Naruto.

"Poor thing. At least you've still got your looks."

"Wait just a damn minute!" Naruto spun around as Sakura jumped to her feet. "What have you got against Art students?!"

"Nothing." Kakashi smiled. "I used to be one, which is why I think they're all lazy bums."

"Amen." Naruto smirked at Shikamaru's comment, and Kakashi turned to him, smiling.

"I'm glad you approve. If Sakura is quite done, let's move on." He glanced at the list. "Hinata Hyuuga."

"Hyuuga?" Naruto turned to the girl.

"You know her?" Kiba inquired.

"I might have met her brother or something." Naruto replied as the girl played nervously with her shoulder-length black hair.

"Um, Nursing." she said in a small, shy voice.

"Sorry? Didn't catch that." Kakashi leaned forward, as if to hear better.

"Nursing." She said, a little louder.

"Do you have a brother named Neji?" Naruto inquired across the small class. She turned to him, startled, blushing scarlet as their eyes met, and then hastily looking away.

"N-no. He's my c-cousin."

"Oh, okay." Naruto faced the professor again, who seemed to approve of the interaction.

"Kiba Inuzuka?"

"Arts." Kiba replied immediately.

"Shikamaru Nara?" A lazy hand rose in the air. "Ah, yes. Another Art student, am I right?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"It had the best courses."

"If you say so. Sasuke Uchiha?" Naruto's breath caught in his throat. They were at U already?

"Sciences." his roommate replied, throwing a glare at Kakashi.

Naruto wasn't paying attention anymore, instead choosing to repeat a litany of words in his head. _Please don't say my last name, please don't say my last name, please don't say my last name..._

"Next, Naruto—Uzumaki?" Heads whipped around to stare at him briefly and he groaned inwardly, but remained calm and casual on the outside, ignoring their gazes. He could hear the two girls behind him whispering to each other over Sasuke, but the rest of the room was oddly silent. Kiba had even reclined more in his chair, stretching his arm out across the back of Naruto's chair, facing forward.

"Hey! Sakura and the blonde!" Kakashi pointed at them, anger evident in his voice. "Knock it off!" The two girls snapped their mouths shut immediately. "I'll have none of that in my class, got it?" They nodded their consent.

Kakashi scanned the room, pleased that the only people out of the eight to have reacted verbally were the two girls. Everyone else had ignored it, for the most part. He couldn't help but smile. Maybe this class wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be.

"What faculty, Naruto?" he asked with a smile.

Naruto didn't reply. He _couldn't_ reply. He just stared down at the folder in front of him.

"He's in Sciences." Naruto turned to Kiba, stunned. "Based on the courses he's taking, he must be pretty smart." Kiba turned to look at Naruto and gave him a huge grin. Naruto's mouth turned up in a small smile.

"All right, then. And lastly, Ino Yamanaka."

"Arts." Kakashi sighed.

"So many Art students. Not surprising, I guess, since Arts is the largest faculty." He pulled out a syllabus and handed a pile to Naruto, who passed it along. "These are the books you'll be required to buy for this course. We'll mostly be focussing on the way they're written rather than their actual themes since this is, in fact, a writing class as opposed to an actual literature class."

"Hey, wait a minute, these books are all somewhat pornographic." Sakura insisted. "You can't honestly expect us to _read_ these."

"Couldn't have been more original?" Sasuke asked the second she'd finished. "I've already read these." Everyone turned to stare at him.

"It's not my fault you raid my bookcase, Sasuke." Everyone turned back to the professor.

"Um, are you related?" Ino asked confused.

"He's my guardian." Sasuke grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Love you, too, Sasuke." Kakashi smiled. "As I was saying, these are all the books you will have to read. But, of course, if you want some extra marks and a little pleasure reading on the side, I recommend_ this_!" He pulled out a bright orange book, flashing it to the class. "Icha Icha Paradise! I wasn't allowed to put it on the syllabus. University said it was too—explicit."

Naruto let out a small groan as he rested his head on the table. This was going to be a _long_ year. A _very_ long year.

"Well, that's essentially all I have to say. Bye." Kakashi leaned back against the desk, opening the orange book in his hand and beginning to read.

Everyone in the room began to pack up their things, heading for the door. Naruto was about to rush out when Kiba grabbed his elbow.

"Hey, you free for lunch?" Naruto avoided his gaze.

"No, I have a class."

"Are you just saying that, or do you actually have one?" Naruto looked at Shikamaru as he said this, having come up beside Kiba. Naruto was wary.

"You're going to kick the shit out of me, aren't you?" he whispered.

"What?" Kiba demanded. "Why the fuck would we do that?" Naruto looked away.

"Because of my mom." Kiba snorted, forcing Naruto to look back at him.

"What the fuck do _we_ care what your parents did and who they were?" he insisted, motioning himself and Shikamaru. "You're not them, so why would we judge you based on that?"

"Of course, _some_ people don't have that kind of respect." Shino stated as he joined the group, Ino and Sakura pushing past the group, blushing slightly at his comment. Hinata was behind them, smiling shyly at the boys as she passed them.

Naruto was stunned. No, he was—he was— he didn't know _what_ he was, but he was something! _Never_ in his life had _anyone_ looked past who his parents were. It was either 'The Great Arashi Uzumaki's Son' or 'The Monster Minako Uzumaki's Son'. To have people suddenly willing to accept him for _him_ was just mind-boggling. A ridiculously huge grin took over his face.

"Thanks, guys. I actually do have a class, though. Anatomy. I'll see you for dinner?"

"Sure thing." Kiba smirked.

"We talked earlier about dinner." Chouji said from beside Shikamaru. "We all get off around four or five on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so we're going to head to dinner around five-thirty. Does that work for you?" Naruto thought a moment. Biology ended at five. Five-thirty worked.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan."

"Solid." Kiba grinned. "Well, I'm famished. We'll catch you later, Naruto." He slapped the blond on the back before walking out of the classroom.

"Bye." Naruto said to them as they all walked out, waving or telling him to have fun in Anatomy.

He grinned to himself like a fool, unable to believe things were finally changing. He turned to look at Sasuke, who was still packing up slowly. _Now if only Sasuke-bastard wasn't such a—well, bastard._ Shaking his head, Naruto left to head for Angus.

Sasuke himself had been silently listening to the conversation between the other boys. After having heard Naruto's last name that morning, he'd been debating whether or not to continue with the pranks. After all, Naruto had to have been miserable all through high school with various pranks and names, Sasuke knew _that_ for sure. But, after hearing that conversation, he figured that if he stopped with the pranks, Naruto would think he was pitying him, and Sasuke didn't know how the blond would take that. Besides, Uzumaki or not, Sasuke wanted a single room.

"How's your first day?" Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, who was still leaning against the desk and reading. The only indication he'd said anything was the fact that he had his head cocked to the side, waiting for an answer.

"Fine. I have two classes with my moron of a roommate."

"Really? Which ones?" Kakashi put the book down at this, crossing his arms.

"Chemistry and this one. It's Naruto." Kakashi frowned at this.

"Damn, I don't know if it's such a good idea having _you_ be his roommate. His life's been torture enough."

"Just another reason to let me have a single, Kakashi." Sasuke zipped up his messenger bag, pulling it onto his shoulders. Kakashi shrugged.

"Nah, he seemed tough enough. I'm sure he'll survive you." Sasuke just grumbled something that could've been a 'goodbye' on a better day and left the room. He had an hour break before Sociology and Sport, and he wanted to get some food.

* * *

Naruto let out a sigh as he sank into the large chair in Angus, surveying the room. The lecture hall was fairly big, and the seats were pretty comfortable. He hoped the professor was energetic enough, or else he was going to fall asleep in these comfy chairs.

"It's you again." Naruto looked up as he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey. Neji, right? I have your cousin in my English class. Hinata, or something?" Neji smirked as he sat down beside Naruto.

"Yeah, she followed me here. We used to be on bad terms, but we made up a few years back and we're cool now. She lives in Residence."

"Cool, me too. I live in Place Vanier, Robson house."

"I think she lives in Ross. It's behind the commons block." Neji began pulling out his books.

"Do you live in Vanier?"

"No, I lived there last year. I'm in Fairview, now. It's near the village on the end of campus." Neji waved in its general direction briefly. "Hinata and I go home on the weekends, though. And during exam time. It gets pretty rowdy out here during those times. We live downtown, so it's not too far." Naruto nodded as Neji spoke.

"Hey handsome." Naruto looked up to see a girl with black hair in two buns sit down on Neji's lap.

"Hello gorgeous, having a good day?" Neji inquired, wrapping his arms around her waist, not seeming at all perturbed by her sitting on his lap.

"Lee embarrassed me in French again, but otherwise, it's been all right. Just got fantastic, though." She grinned as she kissed him lightly on the lips.

Naruto looked away, feeling himself blush. Their open affection for each other was very—new. He'd seen people dating in high school and everything, but the most they'd done in public was hold hands. For a girl to suddenly plop down on her boyfriend's lap and start kissing him... that was a little startling.

"Oh, sorry. Naruto, this is my girlfriend, Tenten Tamura. Tenten, this is Naruto—I don't think you told me your last name."

"It's just a name." Tenten waved her hand in the air. "Who cares? As long as I know his _first_ name, it doesn't matter." She held out her hand to Naruto. "Nice to meet you." Naruto shook it.

"Are you a second year, too?"

"I sure am." She grinned. "I'm taking this course because I was in HKIN last year, but I transferred into Sciences. This is one of my requirements."

"I'm taking it because I couldn't fit it in last year." Neji stated before Naruto could ask him why he was taking a first year course. "In fact, most of my courses this term are first year ones."

"Does that bother you?" Neji just shrugged.

"I still get credits. Doesn't really matter so much to me."

"Now _that's_ what I like to see!" The three of them turned to a man who was running down the stairs towards them, standing in the aisle right beside them, and pulling a toothpick from his mouth, pointing at Neji and Tenten with it. "Look at this, everyone! Perfect start to an Anatomy class! Notice how his hands are wrapped around her waist, because this is the easiest place to fit them in this kind of position. As for her, she has her arms firmly around his neck!"

"Excuse me." Tenten said dryly. "Is there a reason you're getting overexcited?"

"I should hope so." The man smirked as he replaced the toothpick. "I'm the professor."

There was stunned silence.

"Excuse me? How _old_ are you? Twenty?" Tenten asked. The man huffed, crossing his arms.

"I'm twenty-nine, thank you _very_ much." he muttered as he made his way to the front of the class. He turned to survey the fairly full lecture hall as Tenten sat down in the seat beside Neji. "How's everybody doing? Good? I hope so, 'cause this year is going to be _intense_!"

Naruto almost slammed his head on the table. Almost. He couldn't take much more of these 'prepare to die' speeches from every professor.

"When I say intense, don't get me wrong. Yes, the course is pretty hard, but what I mean by intense is—_you'll have to listen to me brag about my hot boyfriend and know you can't have him_!" He hit a key on the laptop that had already been set up and a large picture appeared on the projector screen. "Isn't he _gorgeous_?!"

"Geez, excited much?" Neji muttered from beside Naruto, but Naruto was still staring at the screen. Had his professor just—had he just _admitted_ to an _entire_ classroom of students that he was _gay_?!

"In case I wasn't clear enough, boys and girls—I'm gay."

_Yes, he most certainly did._

"If this bothers you, that's fine, there's the door." He motioned the back of the room. "If not, then great! We'll get along wonderfully. I can teach you everything you need to know about the human anatomy, and we know _everyone _wants to learn about that, whether you're straight or gay." He smirked. "I was straight once, so don't get me wrong. I can give you the _best_ tips for picking up both guys _and_ girls." He sat down on the desk at the front, swinging his legs childishly beneath him as he shifted the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

"First things first, I guess—even though technically, this is the third thing..." he trailed off and shrugged. "Whatever. My name is Genma Shiranui, and I love everything about the human anatomy. Especially anything that involves _him_!" He motioned the large picture on the screen. "Obviously, I'm more familiar with the male body, but I've explored the female one quite thoroughly." The toothpick in his mouth gave a slight jump.

"He likes to repeat himself." Tenten whispered to Neji and Naruto. They both nodded.

"Everything you need to know about this course, such as the syllabus, the lab schedule, books and all that jazz can be found on the website." He hit another key and a URL appeared on the screen. "That one there. Just copy it down and go to the bookstore for your books, if you haven't already. The lab is cancelled this first week, just so you all know. Any other science classes you have will not have any labs, either. Those of you taking Chemistry, Physics, Biology _and_ Anatomy—good luck, you're going to need it. With the lectures three times a week and the three hour labs, you'll have a lot of work to get through." Naruto groaned.

"Great. I _knew_ I should've been in Arts." he muttered to himself.

"Oh, and those of you saying you should've been in Arts, don't." Naruto's eyebrows shot into his hairline. Had the professor _heard_ him, or was it just common for people to wish that? "Arts may be fun, but it's not as easy as you'd think. They have eight page essays to write, books to read, presentations—come to think of it, so does Sciences. Okay, never mind. Wish you were in Arts." He hit another key as Neji and Naruto shared a look. This guy was _insane_!

The new picture on the screen was of a map with an arrow pointing to a building. "This is Hebb, where your lab will be. Anyone here taking Physics will have their lecture in Hebb Theatre, which is right around the corner from the labs. It makes your life easy, because you'll know where the building is come next week." He clapped his hands together. "And that's it for today, boys and girls. If you don't mind, I'm going to go ravish my boyfriend before his next class." He pulled the toothpick out of his mouth and pointed it at Neji and Tenten. "I expect you two to do all the demonstrations for my lectures. Have a good day." With that said and done, the professor disappeared through a side door, leaving the class in stunned silence.

"Well that was—odd." Naruto admitted as he turned to Neji and Tenten.

"Odd doesn't even begin to describe it." Tenten insisted.

"I think I might drop this class." Neji muttered.

"No!" Tenten grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me here alone with the crazy man!"

"You'll have Naruto." Neji insisted, motioning the blond.

"True, but we'll have no one to watch explode because the energy level of the prof is too high, right Naruto?" She winked at him, and Naruto grinned.

"Come on, Neji. If you can survive Ibiki, I'm sure this Genma character will be nothing. Besides, his class looks like it'll be pretty easy based on how crazy he is." Tenten laughed.

"I can see the final now!" She held out both hands, pretending to write on one with the other. "What colour is my boyfriend's hair? How many times a week do we have sex? What courses does he teach?" She laughed as the three of them climbed the stairs.

"God, I hope not. We'd have such a hard time finding all that out. At least Anatomy is all in the book." Naruto commented.

They pushed through the doors, Neji wrapping an arm around Tenten's shoulders. "Well, Naruto, I have to head over to Wesbrook for Sociology and Sport. I guess we'll see you later." Neji said to the blond.

"Yup. I'll see you guys around. Have a good day." He waved to them as he headed back towards Vanier.

As he walked down the hill, he noticed Sasuke walking up on the other side. Naruto couldn't help but heave a giant sigh of relief. At least the bastard wouldn't be in the room with him—then again, what if he'd done something to Naruto's half of the room? _Why do I care? _Naruto asked himself. _If he did something, I'll just do something back. We'll see who the victor of** this** war is, Sasuke-bastard!_

**

* * *

**

**A/N: Before anyone gets insulted by Kakashi's comment regarding Art students, just know that I am one. I just see Kakashi as one of those people who would make this kind of comment.**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	4. Req for Being a Uni Prof: Insanity II

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Kiba begged, and begged, and begged, but K. Masashi just won't give me the rights to him. So alas, no one belongs to me... yet... **

**A/N: Excuse the OOCness... It's five in the morning...**

* * *

**Requirement for Being a University Professor: Insanity II**

Sasuke walked through the front doors of Wesbrook, glancing briefly at a girl he recognized from his French class. She was standing with a boy who had longish black hair and light grey eyes. The boy kissed her before waving and heading for the door, following Sasuke in.

The two of them made their way up the stairs, and when Sasuke reached the lecture hall, he pulled open the door and walked in, the boy following him.

"Sociology and Sport?" he asked Sasuke in an indifferent tone.

"Yup." was his reply as he sat down near the front.

The boy took a seat slightly to the side in front of him. A few seconds later, the redhead from Chemistry, Gaara, sat down beside him. Neither said a word to one another, but they'd obviously met before. Sasuke was almost tempted to sit beside them so the three of them could sit and look intimidating together.

"What did you think of that Naruto character this morning?" Gaara asked his neighbour out of the blue. Sasuke's ears perked up, interested in knowing what they thought of his moron of a roommate.

"He appeared to be pleasant." was the casual reply. "I have him in another one of my classes. The one right before this one, actually. What did you think?"

"I enjoyed his company." Gaara admitted. They sat in silence for a short time.

"How's your sister?"

"She still burns pictures of you." Gaara replied, turning to his neighbour. "What did you expect, Neji? You broke her heart by breaking up with her because you were leaving for university."

"I didn't have time to worry about a girlfriend back home." Neji insisted.

"She lives downtown." Gaara reminded him coldly. "And you could've been gentler. She'll probably have a seizure when she finds out I have you in two of my classes."

"Smooth this morning, by the way. Not telling Naruto we knew each other. He probably thought you were rude with the cold shoulder you gave me."

"I was listening to the professor."

"Actually, you were trying to burn holes in his chest with your eyes." Gaara merely shrugged in response to this, and the two boys fell silent.

The door at the front opened a few minutes later, and everyone stared as a tall man walked into the room, his combat boots echoing loudly in the lecture hall. He inhaled slowly on his cigarette before blowing the smoke out, surveying the class in front of him.

"I know what you're all thinking." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at his statement. Sasuke wasn't aware he'd been thinking anything in particular, let alone that his professor had ESP. "You're thinking: how can a guy who smokes be a Sociology and Sport professor? I'll admit, it's a little odd," he inhaled again as he leaned back on the desk, exhaling slowly, "but everyone's got their guilty pleasures."

"Are you allowed to smoke in here?" Gaara asked indifferently, as if he didn't care about the answer but felt compelled to ask anyway. The professor smirked.

"I have special permission. I'm allowed in lecture halls because the area is large enough to diminish the risk of second hand smoke." He took one last drag before putting the cigarette out in an ashtray sitting on the desk. "My name is Asuma Sarutobi." He crossed his arms. "I'll be teaching all you H-kinners about Sociology and Sport. Those of you not in HKIN, welcome to my class. If you're in Sciences, it should be relatively easy. If you're in anything else, it should be hard." He let a small grin cross his features as he heard groans. "Don't get me wrong, I'm no sadist. I won't make the exam so hard you'll be ripping your hair out after reading the first sentence. I don't care if you never show up, and I don't care if you don't hand in your work, that's your problem. I just mark the stuff. If you're missing an assignment, you lose marks. If you don't come to lectures, you'll miss information not covered in the textbook that will be on the final. Either way, it's your burn, not mine."

He grabbed a book sitting on the desk and held it up. "This is the book we're going to be using. It can be found in the bookstore, and it costs about one hundred dollars. Those of you not willing to spend that much money can find it under the reserved section in the library. You can't take it out, but you can read the pages I assign on a daily basis. I recommend buying it, because you have it readily available." He threw the book back on the desk with a bang. "You have this lecture with me three times a week, and an hour and a half tutorial on Thursdays with a TA. You'll be split up for the tutorial, so make sure you check your own schedule and not the one your friend has. If you're not in the same tutorial, you can request to be transferred to another one, but I don't guarantee you'll get your wish. Our first priority isn't ensuring you're with all of your friends; it's to teach you. Tutorial is cancelled tomorrow. First week and all."

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out from his coat and tapped the bottom, a cigarette popping out the top. "Any questions?" He took the cigarette between his lips as he replaced the pack, scanning the room. "Have a good day, then, and I'll see you all on Friday for our next class. We'll actually be learning something, so be sure to bring a notebook." He looked pointedly at Neji and Gaara, both of whom had nothing out on their desks.

With those final words, everyone stood and began packing away. Sasuke lingered behind, walking slowly to the front with his hands in his pockets, his messenger bag on his back.

"Hey, hey! It's Sasuke. I didn't know if you'd be in my class or not." He gave the raven a hearty pat on the back, which Sasuke winced at.

"I know what you're all thinking?" Sasuke inquired. "You sounded like an idiot, Asuma."

"Yeah, well, at least I don't advertise to my class that I'm going to be twenty minutes late." The older man grinned as he lit his new cigarette.

Sasuke knew Asuma well because of his relationship with Kakashi. In fact, he knew a few of the professors in the university, but the chances of him getting them were so slim, he wasn't holding his breath. The fact that he'd gotten Asuma meant only one thing to him.

"Kakashi had me put in your class, didn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Asuma asked innocently as he exhaled.

"I'm not an idiot, Asuma. I don't take Anatomy, so at least I'm safe from that weirdo, Genma, but I bet you anything that I have Raidou for Biology." Asuma shrugged.

"Wouldn't know. Honestly, Sasuke, we only do it 'cause we worry about you."

"I'd worry more about yourself the way you smoke those things." Sasuke jutted his chin in the direction of Asuma's hand, which held a cigarette.

"True enough, but that's my problem, isn't it?" He smirked as he put the cigarette back to his lips.

"By the way, I think I met your girlfriend this morning. Red eyes, black hair."

"Ah, Kurenai. Yeah, that's her. What did you think?" He grinned. Sasuke gave him a look and Asuma just snorted. "Just because you don't like women doesn't mean you can't admire. Speaking of admiring, how does the roommate look?"

"Fuck you, Asuma." Sasuke turned on his heel and trudged up the stairs.

"_That_ ugly?" Asuma hollered after him before he cracked up.

* * *

Naruto slammed his books down on the closest desk and plopped into his seat, crossing his arms.

"Are—you okay?" Kiba inquired as he took the seat beside Naruto, Shikamaru sitting next to him.

"No! Sasuke-bastard is in this class, too!" Naruto growled angrily.

"Sasuke-bastard?!" Kiba hollered, and burst out laughing.

"This is a huge lecture hall." Shikamaru commented, giving Kiba a weird look as he continued to laugh. "I'm sure you can avoid him. In fact, I _know_ you can avoid him seeing as how he's sitting at the back while we're sitting at the front." Shikamaru leaned back in his seat, both hands behind his head. He was staring at the ceiling with a look of longing on his face. "I wish I could see the clouds. There isn't even a window in this damn place."

"Is that all you ever do?" Naruto inquired, casting Kiba a worried glance as he began to hiccup from laughing so much.

"I like nature. So sue me." Shikamaru replied, closing his eyes. "Wake me up at the end of class."

"Yeah, sure." Naruto replied, his eyes still on Kiba. "You okay, there?"

"I can't believe you called him that!" Kiba exclaimed before bursting out laughing again. "Sasuke-bastard! Oh, God, I'm going to call him that from now on. Fuck." He wiped at his eyes where tears had gathered.

"It wasn't that funny." Shikamaru insisted, his eyes still closed. Kiba opened his mouth to retort when Gaara sat down beside Naruto.

"Oh, hey again. I seem to have a lot of people in the same classes." Naruto said, smiling brightly.

"Me, too. I had Neji in my Sociology and Sport class." He turned to Naruto. "And just so you know, he and I go way back."

"Oh." Naruto frowned, unsure of what to say to this. "Okay. Hey, these two are Kiba and Shikamaru." He motioned his dorm-mates. "Guys, this is Gaara."

"Hi." Shikamaru said lazily, not opening his eyes, and not changing his position in the slightest. Kiba flashed Gaara a grin before turning around to continuously poke Shikamaru in the side.

The doors at the front opened suddenly, causing everyone to watch the professor walk out. A man with spiky brown hair and a burn scar along the side of his face walked into the room, looking through papers. It almost seemed as if he hadn't noticed people were sitting in the class. He moved behind the desk and sat down, putting the papers into a neat pile in the corner before facing the class completely.

"I know you!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing his finger at the professor. "You're my Anatomy professor's boyfriend!" There was a snort from the back of the large lecture hall.

"Good one, Raidou, letting Genma advertise that. Maybe you should have him on a leash." Sasuke called.

"Shut it, Uchiha." Raidou growled. "As for you, kid—keep that to yourself." A pink tinge appeared on the professor's cheeks as he turned away from the class, clearing his throat. He turned back to them again after he'd composed himself.

"Welcome to Biology 112. I'm Raidou Namiashi. I'm warning all of you in advance: a crazy co-worker of mine will probably randomly run in here the entire term and try to get me to leave. I apologize for this now, but there's really nothing I can do about it. That being said, I'm also prone to bringing dead animals in here. This _is_ a Biology class, and if I feel like it, I dissect things. Of course, this is what the main focus of your lab is, but I don't get to teach the labs, so I settle with being able to take stuff apart in here." He motioned the pile of papers before him. "That's a syllabus. It has the books you need to buy, dates for assignments and midterms, and the website. Be sure to get one before the end of class."

That was when the doors at the back of the class slammed open violently. Everyone except Gaara and Sasuke jumped, turning to see what the racket was.

"Raidou!" Genma ran down the stairs to the front, the toothpick still protruding from his mouth. He grabbed Raidou's arm and tugged it. "Are you _still_ talking? Hurry _up_! I want a quickie before my next class!" Raidou let out a sigh.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my crazy co-worker." he informed. "Genma, go back to your office. I'll go up when I'm finished."

"Hurry!" Genma ran back up the stairs and disappeared through the doors.

Kiba and Naruto shared a look before snickering into their hands. Even though Genma was insane, Naruto had enjoyed seeing the look of half-hate, half-love on Raidou's face when the longhaired professor had run in.

"If I'm not up there in five minutes, he'll disrupt me until I wrap up, so I may as well leave it there. Make sure you all grab a syllabus before heading out." Standing from his chair and grumbling under his breath, Raidou made his way to the door at the front, and left the class.

The students began to talk amongst themselves as they all grabbed syllabuses and left.

"You have class now?" Kiba asked as he folded his syllabus and shoved it in his back pocket.

"Nah, I have an hour off." Naruto replied. "You?"

"Nope. I'm done for the day." He flashed Naruto a grin.

"How about you, Shikamaru?"

"I have a class in an hour." he replied lazily, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"I'll be heading home." Gaara said to them. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, sure thing, Gaara. Where do you live?"

"Totem Park."

"Oh, isn't that the bad residence that hasn't been renovated since—forever?" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall if he was right or not.

"That would be the one. I'll see you next class."

"Bye!" Gaara began to wander off, Naruto watching him go. He noticed the redhead passing Sasuke, and watched as the raven headed in the opposite direction of the dorm. "Sweet!" Naruto pumped his fists in the air. "Sasuke-bastard has class so I have an hour free of his assholeness!" He began dancing on the spot as Kiba and Shikamaru began walking back to Vanier.

"Come on, weirdo. Let's get back." Kiba smirked.

_

* * *

_

_Kakashi for English, Asuma for Sociology and Sport, and then Raidou for Biology,_ Sasuke thought as he sat down in his Geology class. He was more than willing to bet his balls that Kakashi had planned it that way. At least he was safe from Genma. That was _all_ he needed, that annoying psycho trying to set him up with anyone and everyone.

Sasuke still rued the day Genma had found out his sexual preferences lay in the same category as his own. Genma had started out with a two-hour rant on how Sasuke couldn't have Raidou, even though Sasuke kept insisting he didn't _want_ Raidou. After that had finished, he'd started talking to Sasuke about positions, which was the _last_ thing Sasuke had wanted to be talking about with him! And, to make matters worse, the second he'd thoroughly embarrassed Sasuke with _that_, he'd called up one of his friends to ask if his brother was still single!

Genma had never left Kakashi's house so fast in his life.

As Sasuke leaned back in his chair, he thought back on what Asuma had asked. He hadn't really looked at his roommate, to be honest, so he couldn't categorize him. The blond hair and blue eyes were super hot, though, he had to admit that. The tanned skin helped, too, because it gave him this warm, sun-kissed type of aura. Other than that, Sasuke hadn't really looked at his roommate. He could hardly remember what his roommate looked like, and could very well have walked up to any blond-haired, blue-eyed boy and assumed it was his roommate. The only reason he kept recognizing him was because of the horrifying orange sweater. Oh, that and the fact that he'd heard Naruto's name in two of the three classes. The last one he knew because of who he was sitting with, and because Naruto had nicknamed him 'Sasuke-bastard'.

The door opening interrupted his inner musings, and he turned to it to see who his professor was. Sasuke was so close to jumping out the window when he saw who walked through the door he'd actually made his chair scrape against the floor. _No! Please, **God**, anyone but him! Fuck, **Genma** is better than him! Please tell me I'm seeing things!_

"Sasuke!" The booming voice confirmed he was _not_ seeing things. "It feels like I have not seen you since you graduated and ran into the setting sun to escape Kakashi's loving, fatherly embraces!" Sasuke buried his face in his arms. He felt a thump on his back and refrained from snapping the man's wrist. "I am thrilled to have you in my class, Sasuke! I feel honoured my rival deems me fit enough to teach his young one!"

"I'm going to wring his neck, myself." Sasuke grumbled, his head rising from its position as Gai moved back to the front.

"We still have a few minutes before class is set to start. Do forgive me if I arrive late sometimes, but I enjoy a hearty jog around the campus!" He let out an exuberant laugh as he jogged on the spot. Sasuke groaned and buried his face in his arms again. For God's sake, the man was wearing _green_! Green pants, green shirt and a green jacket. Sasuke was willing to bet anything that he even wore green underwear.

The door slammed open and Sasuke chanced a peek, recognizing the boy from his French class. It was then that it hit him. Why he'd thought the boy looked so familiar. _Oh, God, no! Please don't tell me—_

"Lee Rock!" Gai hollered, his arms opened wide.

"Professor Gai!" The boy leapt at his professor, hugging him tightly before pulling away. "I missed your inspiring words over the summer, professor Gai! But I took your advice and ran around my neighbourhood four times to make up for not being able to run around campus!"

"Excellent, Lee!" Gai laughed heartily again. Sasuke risked losing his lunch. "One must stay fit and exuberant during the height of their youth!"

"Yes, professor Gai!"

"Sit, Lee, we'll catch up later, and perhaps go do two-hundred push-ups after class!"

"Only two-hundred, professor Gai?" Gai laughed.

"Well, three-hundred, if we must, but I don't want you exhausting yourself on the first day back! We'll return to our original seven-hundred in a few weeks." Lee saluted him.

"Yes, professor Gai!" With that, he turned on his heel and sat down beside Sasuke. If Sasuke were one to openly show his emotions, he would've been bawling. As it was, he settled for sulking, his face buried in his arms.

"Hello youthful students!" Gai boomed. "I am your professor for this Geology course, Gai Maito! We will be studying all sorts of things, but most importantly, _rocks_!" He pulled out a sedimentary rock from seemingly nowhere, holding it out in front of him and surveying it as if it were gold. "This rock—the beauty! Admire it! Love it! Know that it formed after millions of years of compression, a force so strong that not even I, the great Gai Maito, can imitate!"

Sasuke was _really_ close to crying. How could Kakashi torture him like this?

* * *

Naruto walked into Hebb Theatre, looking around for a seat when he noticed Neji at the front, talking to a boy in green.

"It was _amazing_, Neji! Professor Gai hasn't changed a bit!"

"That's a shame." the Hyuuga admitted as he handed Lee a set of keys. "Try not to forget them again, will you?" He turned as Naruto approached them. "Oh, hey."

"Hey, you in this class, too?" Naruto asked, shifting uncomfortably with his hands in his pockets.

"No, Lee forgot his keys." He motioned the boy in green. "He and I share one of the apartments in Fairview, so he called me to bring them over. Lee, this is Naruto. Naruto, Lee."

"Hey." Naruto said.

"Hello, Naruto! How wonderful of you to have met Neji earlier, thus allowing you to meet me so we may sit together in this Physics class!" Naruto cocked an eyebrow at Lee's enthusiasm.

"Yeah, he's crazy. Good luck with that. I'll see you later, Lee." Neji walked past the blond and headed back up the stairs as Naruto sat down uncertainly beside Lee. In all truth, Lee was scaring the shit out of him.

"And what faculty are you in, Naruto?" Lee inquired as he pulled out some books.

"Uh, Sciences."

"Amazing!" Naruto jumped and turned to Lee as he hollered this, catching the attention of practically everyone in the room. "I, too, am in the faculty of Science. You and I will get along very well! Are you a second year?"

"Uh, no. First year. I'm in a second year course for Physics because I passed my AP with a four, so they bumped me up a level."

"You are incredible, Naruto!" Lee began to laugh, and Naruto winced.

It was then that two loud 'bangs' were heard, the front of the class erupting in smoke. A few girls in the class screamed, and Naruto debated whether to run, or try and find a fire extinguisher. Then, the smoke began to clear.

"Listen up, you little maggots, cause it's time to start the lesson! I'm your professor, Anko Mitarashi." A woman smirked at them all as the smoke dissipated. "You ready to begin? Good!" she hollered before anyone could say anything.

Naruto buried his face in his arms, almost in tears. _Everyone here is insane,_ he thought, dangerously close to sobbing. _The whole lot of them. Maybe it's a requirement for being a university professor._

"All of you paying attention? You damn well better be! Get ready for a year of—" An alarm started sounding, cutting the professor off just as the overhead sprinklers turned on. A few girls screamed while others attempted to cover their books. Naruto just blinked, the water running through his hair.

The professor in front of him sighed, shaking her head. "Happens every term. All right, everyone, please exit the building. I'll finish up outside." Everyone began to hurriedly gather their things as they all rushed for the door.

As they exited the building, Naruto saw other professors grumbling and cursing under their breath.

"Dammit, Anko! How many times do we have to tell you to _drop_ the smoke bombs?!" one of her co-workers yelled. She laughed sheepishly, a light blush on her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her head.

They all made their way outside and followed Anko as she went around the side of the building. Most people were muttering about being wet or having their notebooks ruined, but Naruto and Lee just kept casting glances at each other.

"She's a little—nutty, huh?" Naruto whispered to Lee.

"More than a little." Naruto was relieved to find out that Lee didn't have just one volume setting to his voice.

Anko spun around abruptly, almost causing students to walk into her. "All right, you maggots may think you're hot stuff for getting into UBC, but let me tell you something: you're not!" Lee and Naruto shared another look. "This year is going to be long, and it's going to be hard!"

"Kind of like the way you like it in bed." a man with a cigarette commented as he passed by her.

"Dammit, Asuma! Shut up!" she hollered after him.

"Payback's a bitch." He smirked over his shoulder.

Anko turned back to her class, blushing again, but she continued anyway. "I don't like slackers, and I don't like excuses. Work hard, do it right, and all will be fine. Since the syllabuses got a little—damp," she smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head again, "I'll print off some more and get them to you next class. Dismissed."

Everyone grumbled as they made their way towards their respective houses. Lee hung back and held his hand out to Naruto.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Naruto! I expect I'll see you again on Friday, and we can continue to discuss the weirdness of our professor!" Naruto laughed, shaking his head as he took Lee's hand.

"Yeah, sure thing, dude. I'll see you around. Later." Naruto turned on his heel and headed for Vanier.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: No, Neji and Gaara do _not_ have the hots for Naruto. I'm just clearing up that little misconception. They were just asking one another what they thought of him because it was something they could both talk to each other about, since they have nothing else to discuss. I know they're not usually ones for small talk, but work with me here. It would be incredibly boring if they never said anything.**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	5. The Prank War Continues

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Kiba was dragged back to K. Masashi kicking and screaming, demanding to know why he couldn't be mine.**

* * *

Kiba and Naruto fell onto the couches in the first floor lounge, their tummies ecstatically full from dinner.

"Man, that hit the spot." Kiba sighed as their friends joined them, other boys wandering into the lounge.

They had a house meeting to discuss all the rules and meet the Resident Advisors. They were supposed to have it on the first day of Residence, but most people had been too exhausted after moving in, and orientation had run too late for them to have one, so the three RA's had opted for the first day of classes instead. The fact that two of their three RA's had been in the hospital helped, too.

Once the lounge was happily packed full of boys—since it was an all-boys dorm—the RAs finally decided to make an appearance, trudging in lazily while talking to one another.

"Where's Sasuke-bastard?" Kiba inquired, having adopted the nickname Naruto had given his roommate.

"Who knows, who cares?" Naruto replied as the RAs motioned for people to quiet down.

"Hey guys, how was your first day of class?" One of the older students asked. He received a chorus of groans in answer. He smirked, rubbing along the bandage across the bridge of his nose. "You'll have to excuse the bandages Tonbo and I are wearing." He motioned another RA who had bandages across his forehead and eyes. "We got a little overexcited during the RAs rugby game before move-in day and—well, yeah." He motioned himself. "My name is Kotetsu Hagane. I live on third, and I'm the RA for second and third."

"I'm Izumo Kamizuki. I live on first, and I'm the RA for basement and first. As you can see, I am bandage-free, because I have a brain, and I use it every once in a while."

"Yeah, right." Kotetsu smirked at him.

"If the two of you are quite finished, can _I_ introduce myself?" Tonbo sniffed, annoyed. Izumo and Kotetsu laughed, making faces at the temporarily blind RA. "And stop making faces at me, I know your maturity level, and it's something you would do!" The two RAs laughed as they quietened down. "I'm Tonbo Tobitake. I live on fourth, and am the fourth floor RA."

The three RAs went about telling them all the rules. Quiet after nine on weekdays, no open alcohol in the hall, only one person in the shower at a time—guys liked to bring their girlfriends over for some fun in the shower—and basic other rules that they would need to know. Once everything was said and done, they bid the boys goodnight, and disappeared to their rooms.

The friends on second and Shikamaru all headed out of the dorm to go to the commons block and get some munchies for later. There was a small shop in the commons called 'Hubbard's,' which was open from five-thirty to eleven-thirty every day. It sold mostly junk food, but there was also milk, juice, cereal, and stuff like that.

Naruto got himself a coffee before heading back with the others, who'd all gotten various assortments of things. Once they hit second, Shikamaru disappeared up the stairs with a wave as the others all headed down the corridor.

"Shit, man." Naruto groaned as they neared his room. "I don't want to go back in there and deal with Sasuke-bastard."

"Maybe the fucker moved out." Kiba smirked.

"Don't give me hope like that, Kiba." Naruto muttered.

"You may as well try and make the best of it." Shino insisted as they all stopped a few doors beyond Naruto's, in the other boys' section of the floor. "You're going to be stuck with him for the remainder of the year, and it's only the second day. If you don't deal with it now, it'll just get worse."

"The asshole can move out, then!" Naruto insisted.

"He's probably saying the same thing about you." Shino insisted as he unlocked his door and opened it. "I think you should call a truce and apologize." Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll see how tonight goes." He began walking backwards towards his room. "I'll see you tomorrow. No labs, so I ain't got no classes." Naruto pumped his fist in the air.

"Aw, shit, man. Lucky fuck." Kiba grumbled. "I have an eight o'clock Political Science class. The shitty thing is, the prof's probably only going to talk for five minutes before dismissing us, so I wake up that early for five minutes of nothing." Kiba shook his head as he unlocked his door. "I hate this."

"Sucks to be you, Art student." Naruto teased as he unlocked his door.

"Sucks to be you more." Kiba smirked, motioning Naruto's room. The blond shot him a filthy glare before pushing open the door and disappearing into the room.

Sasuke was sitting at his desk, apparently doing homework. _How_ he could be doing homework already, Naruto didn't know. They hadn't gotten any assignments yet, so if Sasuke was just doing the readings, he was more of a loser than Naruto thought. It was the first day of classes, the day where you made friends and fucked around before the workload escalated. As far as Naruto could remember from all the classes Sasuke had been in with him, he hadn't talk to a single person, and probably hadn't made a single friend. Naruto almost felt bad for him. Almost. Hey, he was human, and the guy was an asshole, so he wasn't about to start bawling and hugging the poor child or anything.

Sipping his coffee, Naruto headed for his desk and plopped down in his chair, moving his mouse to take his computer off sleep mode. He put his coffee down as his screen turned back on and noticed he'd gotten some messages on MSN. He went to type when a sharp jolt shot up his arm.

"Shit!" he yelped out, shaking out his injured hand. That had _hurt_! "Shit." he muttered again, ignoring Sasuke as he turned his head to glance at him.

Naruto went to type again, but jerked back again. He was confused. Sure, the first time the shock could've happened if he'd been dragging his feet on the carpet, but the second time shouldn't have happened at all. The first one should've absorbed all the shock, and that should've been the end of it. Frowning, he tentatively reached out to touch his computer, and felt another sharp jolt shoot up his arm. Frowning, he stood up and inspected his laptop without touching it.

He let out an angry growl as he noticed why, exactly, he was getting shocked. Some bastard—_three guesses who, and two don't count_—had set up a cable at the back of his computer, the wire protruding from it, and going into his computer. The asshole was trying to _fry_ him to death!

He shot Sasuke the filthiest look he had, but the raven had his back to him, smirking to himself as he felt Naruto's gaze boring into his back. Said blond grabbed the cable further away from the protruding wires and yanked it away from his laptop, following it to find out where it had come from. He bit back an angered curse as his eyes found his heater. Oh well. If he froze this winter, Sasuke would, too. It wasn't like the little heaters did much to begin with, and with only one working, they were in for a cold winter. Naruto smirked as he glanced at Sasuke's bed, where all he had was some sheets. Naruto himself always had a mountain of blankets.

Naruto unplugged the end of the useless wire and threw it under his bed so he could discuss it with the front desk. He didn't want to risk leaving it lying around for Sasuke to stumble on again and use a second time.

He headed for the door, coffee in hand, when he noticed Sasuke's books and labs lying on the floor by his closet. He glanced at the closest lab book, and then his coffee. Was it worth it? Was it _really_ worth it? A suppressed snicker from his roommate decided for him that, yes, it was worth it. Not even bothering to make it seem like an accident, Naruto removed the plastic lid and dumped his coffee onto the lab book and carpeting around it.

Sasuke smelled the strong scent of uncovered coffee before he heard the splash. Jumping from his seat like rapid fire, he moved around his bed to see his Chemistry lab book covered in a thick layer of brown coffee. He grit his teeth and locked his dark brown eyes with azure ones. Naruto merely gave him a 'take-that' smirk before throwing the empty cup and lid into the bin. He grabbed his keys and left the room, heading to Kiba's to play some video games before the guy caved and went to bed, robbing Naruto of his escape.

By the time Naruto returned to his room, it was close to one in the morning, and all the lights were off. He didn't really care if Sasuke had class the next day or not, and he went about his nightly business as loudly as if he had been in a single. He even went as far as turning on the overhead light, ignoring the scowl he got from Sasuke.

A few minutes later, he was ready for bed, and he flipped off the light, walking to his bed and jumping up onto it. He pulled the covers off and slipped his feet underneath, only to bite back a yelp as they drew up short—again.

"Bastard!" was the last thing anyone on second heard coming from room two-twelve.

* * *

The blond opened his eyes to face day three with Sasuke-bastard; the mere thought made him almost cover his head with his blanket and pray for sleep to take him again.

He knew Tuesdays and Thursdays would be hard, because he'd only ever have to wake up every other week for his labs. Since he had no labs today, and only a roommate who would piss him off, he saw no reason to move at all. Of course, his stomach yelling at him to get out of bed, and his bladder threatening to explode told him he wouldn't be able to lay there for much longer.

With a sigh, Naruto sat up and scratched his head as he stretched out with his other arm. He turned his head to regard his roommate, but as usual, the bastard's bed was perfectly made, and said roommate was nowhere to be seen.

"Good." Naruto grumbled as he swung his feet over the side. He was just about to jump down when he paused. After the night before, it wouldn't do for him to _not_ be cautious. He _had_ dropped coffee all over Sasuke's lab book, after all. _And what a waste of coffee it was, _he mused with a sigh as he inspected the floor beneath his dangling feet. Satisfied when nothing seemed out of the ordinary, he jumped down and padded towards his shelf.

Catching sight of the time, he vaguely remembered Kiba saying something about lunch at one up at the Village. None of the boys had gotten the chance to explore it yet, due to the chaos of the first few days, and they were unwilling to put it off any longer.

It was a small compound near the edge of campus with stores and food places. It wasn't big, and there were hardly any shops, but it had the essentials. A computer store for paper and printer cartridges, a pharmacy, a liquor store—the usual.

Naruto had half an hour, so he didn't see a need to hurry. They were all going to be meeting back in the dorm, anyway, so he could just go to the bathroom and change. Reaching his shelf, he frowned as he looked for his keys.

"S'funny. I could've sworn I left my keys right—" Naruto cut himself off and cursed angrily. He _had_ left his keys there. And, of course, Sasuke-bastard had woken up before him and run off with them.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Naruto shook his head. Whatever, the bastard wasn't there, so there was no risk of him being locked out. He'd just go to the bathroom, and then come back to change before heading to the commons block for a spare key.

It was useful that the doors could lock automatically if you turned the lock in a certain direction, but then again, it also meant loads of people locked themselves out, hence the reason for spare keys.

Naruto left the room, ensuring the door wasn't locked as he closed it. He even opened it for good measure, and when he was satisfied as it clicked open, he shut it again and headed for the bathroom with his toothbrush. Five minutes later, he re-emerged with a yawn, nodding to a floor-mate as he passed to head to class.

Naruto reached his room and turned the knob. The door didn't open. He frowned as he jiggled the knob some more, but the door didn't budge.

"What the..." He trailed off as he continued to turn the knob. Was it stuck or something?

That was when he saw the flash of black in his peripheral vision. Turning his head, he saw his roommate walk through the door at the end of the hall and descend the stairs. Naruto's mouth fell open.

"Oh, you asshole! Fuck!" He slammed his fist on his door angrily. The guy had probably been waiting in the lounge or something for Naruto to leave the room, knowing he would leave the door unlocked. And then, he'd returned to the room, locked the door, and calmly walked away. Oh, _now_ Naruto was mad!

Blushing furiously, he slowly made his way down the corridor. Going to the commons block wouldn't have been so bad any other day. It just sucked today because he was wearing black boxers with red hearts and kisses on them, and it was twelve-thirty, meaning there would be a _lot_ of people walking around.

Swallowing his embarrassment, Naruto pushed through the front doors of the dorm and hurriedly made his way to the commons block. He heard whistles and catcalls as he walked by a group of girls, and gave them a cocky grin, but the second they passed, the grin fell and he began walking faster.

It wasn't that he was embarrassed to show off his body. Quite the contrary, he could be a real exhibitionist. It was just—he had a few scars, and even though they weren't that noticeable, he didn't like _everyone _knowing about them. Also, first thing in the morning, wearing boxers he didn't necessarily want people to see... He was going to _kill_ Sasuke!

Naruto walked through the commons block, hearing people laugh and receiving more catcalls. He reached the front desk, the girl behind it blushing furiously as she checked out his toned chest. An embarrassing two minutes and a spare key later, Naruto turned to leave, only to run into the _last_ person he wanted to. Mostly because he knew he'd never live it down.

"Holy shit! Run out of clothes, there?!" Kiba howled with laughter, drawing even _more_ attention to Naruto, who was beginning to resemble a tomato.

"Shut up." he grumbled as he pushed past Kiba, the other boy still laughing as he followed.

"What happened?" he inquired as the two left the commons block.

"What do you think? Sasuke-bastard locked me out when I went to the bathroom."

"You didn't bring your keys?" Kiba asked incredulously. "Man, you put the 'dumb' in 'dumbass'."

"He took my damn keys, asshole." Naruto snapped. "And he wasn't in the room. The bastard was waiting for me to leave so he could lock me out and have me walk to the commons like this." Naruto motioned his state of undress. Kiba just chuckled as he swiped his card and entered his code, the door clicking open.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo." Kiba commented, motioning Naruto's navel where a swirly tattoo was. Naruto looked down at it and laughed.

"Yeah, I got it a while back. My grandmother flipped when she saw it, but I think it grew on her."

"Is that Chinese around the swirl?"

"Japanese. It's Kanji."

"What does it say?" Naruto laughed, shaking his head as they walked through the door onto their floor.

"I have no idea. It was a design, I thought it was cool, so I got it done." (1)

The two returned to their rooms and changed, meeting up again five minutes later with all the other boys, and heading out to the village. It wasn't a long walk, only about ten minutes. The whole time there was spent laughing at Naruto's walk to the commons block in his boxers. He didn't find it all that funny.

They reached the village, and both Chouji and Naruto's eyes zeroed in on a small shop around the corner. They could smell the ramen from where they stood, and regardless of what the others said, _that_ was where they were eating.

"Ichiraku, huh?" Kiba crinkled his nose and shrugged. "Whatever. Noodles are noodles." He pushed through the doors, the others following him in. They all went to the counter and scanned the list of ramen.

"Hi there." Kiba leaned forward on the counter as he noticed the girl behind it. "What's your name?" he asked in what Naruto assumed he believed to be a seductive voice.

"Ayame." the girl replied, eying him warily. "Can I help you?"

"You sure can." Kiba's grin widened slightly. Shino grabbed the back of the other boy's jacket and hauled him away from the counter, despite Kiba's protest.

"Excuse him, he's never been one for manners." Shino said to the girl. "What ramen do you recommend?"

"Oh, I don't know. My dad makes them, so I like them all. It's hard to choose favourites." Her eyes fell on the only other person in the small restaurant. "Iruka?" All the boys spun around as a single head turned to Ayame. "These boys would like to know which ramen one would recommend."

"Ah, first years." The man named Iruka threw the small book he'd been reading on the table and stood up, heading towards the counter. "Well, I guess it depends what kind of flavours you prefer. Personally, I like the miso ramen. The pork isn't too bad, either."

"Solid! Miso it is." Kiba turned back to Ayame. "Servings of miso, all around!"

"What if we didn't all want miso?" Shikamaru asked in his bored tone, scanning the small restaurant with his hands in his pockets. Kiba turned to him, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Heh, sorry Shikamaru. I'm just overexcited, I guess. What did you want?" The lazy teen turned back to Kiba and smirked slightly.

"Miso ramen." Kiba rolled his eyes.

The five of them took a seat at one of the larger tables as Iruka returned to his previous seat, picking up his book again. As they waited, Naruto cast a glance at the book, and noticed it was about karate.

"You like karate?" he inquired.

Iruka looked up, stunned, as if he'd forgotten anyone else was around him. He glanced at the book cover and laughed before turning to Naruto and answering his question. "I should hope so. I teach karate."

"Really?!" Kiba inquired excitedly. Iruka smiled.

"Yeah. It's about five minutes off campus. It's called Konoha's Karate." He put his book down and reached into a bag at his feet, pulling out five cards and handing them to the boys at the table beside him. They all read the card carefully, as if they could learn karate just by staring hard enough.

"If you're a karate teacher, what brings you here?" Shino inquired, tucking the card safely away in his jacket pocket.

"I grade papers for a history professor. He's an old friend of the family, and I graduated a few years back with a major in history, so he trusts me with marking them fairly." He shrugged. "It helps pay the rent. But my first love is karate. I love teaching it to people."

The boys' miso ramen arrived not long after, and they urged Iruka to join them at their table, which he did. They learned a lot about him as they ate. His name was Iruka Umino, and he'd been teaching Karate since high school, after his previous karate instructor had offered him a job when he became a black belt. His excitement as he explained it made all the boys eager to join, and they said they would think about it, asking how much it cost, how often they had to be there, and things like that.

Iruka left a while later, and the boys continued to discuss the karate school as they paid and also left. As they walked past the stores in the village to head back to Vanier, Naruto stopped and locked his eyes on a particular store.

"Naruto, what's up?" Kiba asked as he, too, stopped. The other three looked back, but kept walking.

Naruto turned to Kiba, a mischievous smirk on his face as he motioned the store. Kiba followed his gaze, noting that it was one of those stores where you could find various different things, from computer parts to hardware. He turned back to Naruto, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

"I think I'm going to pay Sasuke-bastard back for his little stunt."

"You have a plan?" Kiba asked, a glint in his eye. Naruto turned back to the store.

"Yeah. Yeah, I have a plan."

* * *

Sasuke pushed open the door, and frowned as he realized the lights were off. His roommate _still_ wasn't back? Straining to hear down the hall, he heard him talking in Kiba's room. Typical. Maybe he should ask Kiba to switch so that the two morons could have a double and he could have a single.

Sasuke kicked off his shoes as he closed the door and flipped on the light. He threw Naruto's keys back onto the blonde's shelf. Now that he'd embarrassed him, he saw no need to keep them. Besides, right now, Naruto had a spare key, so it would do him no good to keep the keys when he couldn't lock him out again.

Stretching, the raven decided it was time to head to bed. He knew Naruto would bang around when he returned, but at least the blond seemed to fall asleep relatively quickly, allowing Sasuke to return to sleep as well.

He pulled off his shirt and threw it in his hamper, heading towards his closet. He grabbed the handle and pulled. The door didn't budge. Cocking an eyebrow, the raven tried again. Still nothing. Perplexed, he inspected his closet, and let out a loud growl of annoyance.

"Moron." he grumbled.

Naruto had nailed his closet door shut. And not just with a few nails, either, oh no! He'd nailed his door shut with only about five centimetres between nails.

Sasuke had to admit, to have put that many nails in required patience he wasn't aware Naruto possessed. Then again, it could've been his anger that had made him retaliate in such a way. Sasuke _had_ embarrassed him. A lot.

Sasuke grinned just _remembering_ what he'd done to the poor blond. He had to admit, though, it had given him the chance to briefly glance at his roommate. Although he hadn't gotten more than a glance, it was enough for him to know his roommate was _hot_! He would have to find another time to check him out more.

This didn't mean Sasuke wanted to _keep_ the blond moron as a roommate. He merely wanted to be able to check the boy out before he ran off, never to appear before Sasuke again.

Sasuke paced along his half of the room, trying to determine how to open his closet, and also thinking of a way to retaliate. With a sigh, he leaned back against his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He wasn't one to think this far ahead. He'd been sure Naruto would let the pranks go and just move out; he'd never imagined the idiot would _retaliate_. And every time _he_ retaliated, _Sasuke_ had to retaliate. He wasn't going to let the blond idiot know he'd gotten the upper hand.

Sasuke trudged to his desk with a sigh and fell into his seat, turning on his computer. As he waited for the infernal machine to boot up, his eyes scanned his schedule. He was glad tomorrow was Friday. He didn't understand why they'd started classes on Wednesday, but who was he to complain? It meant two less days to think about during that first week. He noted he had the same classes in the same rooms at the same time as Wednesday. Mentally, he recalled that meant three classes with his roommate.

He sighed and shook his head, not looking forward to facing Asuma, Kakashi, Raidou—and least of all, Gai. Kurenai had seemed all right, for the most part, and Orochimaru...

Sasuke frowned as he thought about this. He didn't know what to make of his Chemistry professor. Yes, he'd been unnerved by the man, and Orochimaru had been a little harsh, but otherwise, he was a good professor. It didn't change the fact that Sasuke would be sitting near the back, but at least he was confident he would learn something in that class.

His phone rang, snapping him out of his thoughts as it vibrated against his leg. Arching his back to pull the damned device from his pocket, he flipped it open and held it to his ear.

"You could've told me you'd be by for dinner, I would've stayed home." Kakashi's bored tone drawled into Sasuke's ear.

"I saw no reason to inform you since you'd eat in another room, anyway." Sasuke replied simply, his eyes returning to his schedule. He couldn't understand why the phone and his Chemistry class suddenly held so much more of his attention than Kakashi's reply. His eyes widened as he suddenly figured out why, and he grinned, randomly answering a question he hadn't even heard.

"Hn."

"Of course. Hn." Kakashi sighed. "My, Sasuke, your vocabulary is astounding."

"Are we done?" Sasuke asked, ending the conversation the same way he and his guardian always did.

"Yeah, we're done." Kakashi replied, as usual. Sasuke hung up the phone and grinned.

Pushing away from his desk, he went to Naruto's half of the room and searched through the blond's bag. Finding his phone, he turned the ringer back on, and set it to the loudest volume it could go. He then inserted the number into his own cell phone before putting it back into Naruto's bag.

Sasuke then rummaged around under Naruto's bed until he found a toolbox with the hammer the blond had obviously used to nail his closet shut.

More than once as he struggled to take out the nails he felt the insatiable urge to go to Kiba's room and smash Naruto's head in with his own hammer. But, Sasuke refrained.

Thinking about it, to him, the payback he'd come up with wasn't good enough after what Naruto had done, but this was to him. Sasuke knew that to Naruto, the payback was worse than if Sasuke had nailed Naruto's closet shut instead.

Now that he had all the nails out, Sasuke was tempted to nail Naruto's closet shut, but he didn't have the patience. His patience had been spent when he'd been freeing his own closet. Besides, the banging would attract his roommate back to the room before Sasuke even managed to finish nailing in the first one, and if for some reason he _did_ manage to nail the entire thing shut, Naruto would keep him up all night removing them. No, it wasn't worth it.

Dumping the hammer and nails onto Naruto's bed, and silently praying the blonde would impale himself with them, Sasuke headed back to his closet and opened it. He changed quickly into a pair of sweat-pants before jumping up onto his bed and lying down on his back with a sigh. His back really hurt from bending over for so long, and he wanted to stretch it out before going to brush his teeth.

He listened to all the noise around him, slightly annoyed that the walls were so damn thin. The trees outside rustled in the night breeze, and a chill ran up his spine as the cold night air entered the room through his open window. He felt a presence in the room, and almost groaned. Stupid roommate, he hated Kakashi for doing this to him.

It was very hard for him not to frown as he felt lips close to his ear.

"Hello, little brother." a voice whispered.

Sasuke jerked up, looking around, his eyes wide. The room was dark, and Naruto was sleeping in the other bed. Itachi was nowhere to be seen. A dream? How long had he been asleep?

With shaking hands, he brushed his sweat-soaked hair from his face and took a deep breath. God, how he hated waking up from dreams like that. It had felt like a second to him, but the state he was in suggested it had been much, much longer than that.

Slipping from his bed, Sasuke left the room quietly to splash water on his face, closing the door silently behind him.

Across the room, a single blue eye peeked open. He didn't want to feel concerned for Sasuke. He hated the bastard, after all. But—he knew what it was like to have nightmares. He'd just been about to get up and shake the asshole awake when Sasuke had jerked up in bed by himself.

Maybe later, if the two of them ever got over their hatred for each other, he'd talk to Sasuke about it. He almost felt compelled to go and make sure the raven was okay, but he wasn't _that_ nice. There were limits to Naruto's compassion for people, and after the stunt Sasuke pulled that morning, it would take him a while to completely forgive him.

When the door opened again, and Naruto was satisfied that Sasuke wasn't going to freak out or anything, he rolled over so his back faced his roommate and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

* * *

(1) I know it's obvious but I feel compelled to state the obvious. The tattoo is the seal for the Kyuubi.

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	6. Blood and Life

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi tried to give me Itachi, but I'm too scared of him, so I gave him back. Watch out, K. Masashi is trying to get rid of him! You might be next to receive him! K. Masashi still owns him... and Kiba... But Kiba has begun to dig a hole from his house to mine :P**

**A/N: So, some people (my muse included) really want Naruto and Sasuke to get it on... That doesn't happen right now... You still have like, four chapters or so to go before that... So I've compromised. If you want them to finally just get it on, I've written a one-shot entitled "The Power of Gackt" which you can read now, or later, or whenever. It's just for your own convenience. Enjoy :3**

* * *

Sasuke waited patiently for ten or fifteen minutes to pass in his Chemistry class.

Orochimaru had come up the stairs to talk to him a bit at the beginning of class, and Sasuke had made a mental note to come later, because it gave the professor less time to interact with him. Truth be told, Orochimaru's interest in Sasuke scared him, and he wanted the creepy man _away_ from him.

Absently taking down random notes as Orochimaru spoke, Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Naruto, who was at the front of the room beside Gaara. The two appeared to be playing a game of some sort. Tic tac toe or Hangman, Sasuke wasn't sure, but they certainly weren't paying attention.

Sasuke glanced at the clock, and figured enough time had passed. He discreetly pulled his phone from his pocket, and ensured it stayed out of view as he went through his contact list to find Naruto's name. It didn't take long; he only had about eight numbers in there. Hitting the call button, he kept the phone hidden, waiting patiently for the explosion.

Naruto jumped a mile high as his phone began to ring shrilly in the lecture hall. Orochimaru's words stuck in his throat as he turned his angered gaze in the blonde's direction. Sasuke only wished he could see Naruto's face better. He bet it was priceless.

Naruto fumbled to pull out his phone, and turned it off, swearing under his breath. He was _sure_ he'd turned it off. That, and he _never_ had the ringer on.

"Well, well, Uzumaki." Naruto winced. He'd almost forgotten whose class he was in. That pleased tone of voice reminded him. "Your popularity is astounding, but that is no excuse for having your phone ringing in my class."

"Sorry." Naruto muttered.

"Yes, you will be. In fact, to make sure it never happens again, I want you to write me a two-thousand word essay on respecting professors when they're lecturing, and why phones should always be turned off. That, and I want you to leave my class. Anything you miss from this point on is your own fault. Dismissed."

Silently, Naruto packed up and left the room, Orochimaru smirking after him the whole time.

Further up in the class, Sasuke winced. Yes, Naruto having nailed his door shut was harsh, but that had been harsher. He hadn't expected the man to give Naruto a freaking _essay_ to write. _Oh well, _Sasuke shrugged. _It's his own fault, really. And two thousand words isn't so bad. He'll live. And when he finds out it was me, hopefully he'll just move __**out**__ already!_

Outside, Naruto was holding his phone, puzzling at the number he saw. He couldn't say he recognized it, and he wanted to know who it was, so hitting the send button, he put the phone to his ear.

Beyond the door, Sasuke felt his phone trilling. He glanced at Orochimaru, who had his back to the class, and pulled the phone out. Leaning down in his seat, confident he was far enough away, he flipped open his phone and put it to his ear, only knowing one person who would be calling him.

"Kakashi, I'm in class." he muttered.

"_Bastard!_" Sasuke jerked the phone away from his ear, surprised he hadn't gone deaf. People at the front of the class had even turned to the door because Naruto had yelled so loud.

Smirking, the Uchiha put the phone back to his ear.

"Move out, dumbass." he muttered quietly, keeping his eyes on Orochimaru's turned back. "It'll all stop as soon as you move out."

"Bullshit, dickwad! I'm not moving out until I get the last laugh! You'll pay for this, asshole!"

Sasuke smirked. "I'd like to see you one-up me."

"Oh, I'll fucking do it! Just you wait!" Naruto hung up the phone angrily. Sasuke just smirked as he calmly put his phone away.

Absently, he noted that that was the first conversation the two of them had ever had.

* * *

Naruto leaned back casually against the wall, his arms crossed. He surveyed the corridor lazily, almost as if he were expecting something to happen any minute now. In reality, he was waiting for Kiba to come back with confirmation that nobody was in any of the other bathrooms.

It was close to ten at night, and Naruto was ready to exact his revenge. It was Friday, and the first weekend of the school year, so most people were out, anyway. However, one anti-social bastard was not. And this certain anti-social bastard was currently showering.

Kiba appeared beside him, the door at the end of the hall still closing slowly.

"They're empty." he assured him. "I put a sign on them all to make sure no one went in."

"Good. You ready?" Naruto smirked as he pulled a latex glove on. He'd stolen it from Jiraiya's office when he'd gone to talk to him earlier that day.

Kiba grinned as he nodded. "We should make sure we book it back to my room before anyone notices we were in the corridor."

"Go get your door open. I'll sprint in, and we can poke our heads out like we're confused." Kiba nodded and walked down the hall a few steps, opening his door. It was only two doors down from where Naruto was standing.

Once Kiba disappeared into his room, Naruto smirked, and grasped the handle beside him.

"Enjoy your shower, bastard." He pulled down on the fire alarm and sprinted to Kiba's room, hastily pulling off the latex glove as the fire alarm blared throughout the dorm.

Just as they'd said, the two boys poked their heads out the door as other doors opened, and various boys emerged. There weren't many, since most were gone, but there were enough.

"Is it a drill?" Kiba asked. One of the boys turned around and shrugged.

"Should we head outside?" another floor-mate asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Naruto said as he emerged from Kiba's room, Kiba locking his door.

They all made their way calmly outside, the RAs yelling down the corridors on every floor that this was not a drill, and everyone had to evacuate the building.

Naruto and Kiba emerged outside and shivered. Naruto turned to Kiba with a grin.

"Bit chilly, huh?"

"Just a little cold. Good thing we're not wet."

As if on cue, Sasuke emerged from the building, a towel wrapped around his waist. And just as Naruto had planned, all of his fan girls were there to see it.

"Sasuke!" Ino shrieked as she ran for him.

The raven stared at the group of girls, and Naruto could've sworn he saw a look of panic on his face, but it was gone in the next instant, replaced by his usual cool demeanour. Kiba and Naruto absolutely died laughing, practically holding each other up.

Sasuke's eyes went to the two laughing boys, and his eyes narrowed. He would bet the towel he was currently wearing that Naruto had done this. Proving it was a different matter, but he'd be damned if he just sat back and let this slide.

Naruto himself knew Sasuke would retaliate, but the look on his face at seeing his fan girls while he was wearing nothing but a towel was worth whatever the raven threw back at him.

* * *

The weekend flew by without retaliation from Sasuke, and before they knew it, the two of them were back in class. Sasuke headed back to the room after English as Naruto headed to Anatomy, thankful to be away from his roommate.

Once having reached the room, Sasuke threw his bag on the floor angrily and stormed to his chair, sitting down in it with his face in his hands. He'd had another nightmare about his brother the night before, and that day, he could've _sworn_ he'd seen Itachi on campus on two occasions. Of course, upon closer inspection, it hadn't been Itachi, but the mere fact that it _could_ have been him had unsettled Sasuke.

Sasuke had two views to how things would go with Itachi: the first was that he would become good enough to be a forensic or a detective, and he would track the fucker down himself; the second, was that he killed himself before Itachi had the chance to kill him.

The first one was impossible to attain, and he knew it. No matter how good he was, he would never be good enough. Itachi would always be one step ahead of him, and he'd never catch him. The easiest choice was choice two. Die before Itachi could have the satisfaction of killing off the last of his family.

Sasuke still remembered waking up all those nights ago screaming in terror, Kakashi running in to calm him down. He'd been so angry with himself for showing weakness, but Kakashi had never brought it up the next morning. It didn't matter, though, because he knew he was weak. Suicide was also a sign of weakness, but in another way, Sasuke could see it as an act of courage. It took a lot of guts to go through with suicide.

In all honesty, Sasuke didn't know how he could continue to live with this. He'd spent so many years trying to forget his brother, to forget his revenge, but he couldn't. Without friends and anyone to care about, revenge was the only thing he ever had on his mind. That was why Kakashi kept trying to get him a girlfriend. Of course, he'd stopped when he'd found out Sasuke was gay, and had left the whole issue alone. Kakashi didn't care Sasuke was gay—it would be hard, since he himself was, too—but he just found it harder to try and hook guys up.

Sighing, Sasuke stared straight ahead when his eyes caught sight of something glinting in the sunlight. Standing, he neared Naruto's desk, and noticed there was a large pocketknife sitting on it. Sasuke just stared at it as if he'd never seen one before. He couldn't decide if this was a sign from a God he didn't believe in, or just dumb luck. In any case, the knife was screaming, "Use me! Use me!"

Sasuke picked up the small object, the metal cool in his hand. He flipped it over between his fingers a few times before pulling out the blade. He pressed the tip to his thumb and felt the metal pierce his skin. He was impressed. Pocketknives weren't the sharpest knives in the world, but Naruto had obviously taken good care of it.

Thinking things over in his mind, Sasuke made a decision. Naruto had class, there was a knife in his hand begging to be used, and by the time Kakashi called him or someone found him, it would be too late. He'd never have a better opportunity.

Turning around, Sasuke climbed into his bed, leaving a stain on his sheets from his bleeding thumb. He wrapped himself up under his sheets, cocooning himself up until all that showed above the sheets was his head. He turned his back to the room and pressed the knife to his wrist. Thinking things over calmly and rationally in his mind, he nodded once before pushing against the blade and feeling blood drench his hand in seconds.

* * *

Naruto panted furiously as he ran towards Robson. He couldn't _believe_ he'd forgotten his Anatomy notebook. He felt like such an idiot because he'd checked his schedule and his bag _twice_ before having left his room. He supposed his sleep-fogged brain wasn't exactly the best thing to rely on, but there was nothing he could do now.

Belatedly, he realized he probably should have left his bag with Neji and Tenten, but whatever. It was too late, now.

Naruto practically slammed into the door, he'd been running so fast. He hadn't had enough time to stop, and slamming into the door had seemed like a good idea at the time. His knees and palms refuted the thought, but he ignored them as he swiped his card and punched in his code. The door clicked open and he bolted up the stairs, glancing at his watch. Class was probably just about to start. If he hurried, he'd only miss about five minutes. After all, he'd made it back to Vanier in four or five minutes from Angus. If Sasuke-bastard didn't have a new prank waiting for him, he should make it in time.

Naruto reached his room, praying Sasuke wasn't in there as he unlocked the door. He ran into the room, noticing Sasuke in bed. He ignored the raven in favour of finding his notebook. He was shuffling through the books on his desk when a scent hit his nose. He'd always had a keen sense of smell, and knowing there was a scent that didn't belong there forced him to pause. Looking around, he tried to establish what the scent was, and where it was coming from. He soon realized it smelled like blood, and frowned.

He hated Sasuke, but the bastard was hurt, so he'd just make sure he was okay. Nothing wrong with that, just a little concern to make sure he didn't get accused of injuring him.

"Bastard, you okay?" His only reply was a shallow breath. Too shallow.

Frowning, Naruto made his way to Sasuke's side as he dropped his bag on the floor, staring at the Uchiha's back. He cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. He didn't care if he woke the idiot up, so reaching out, he rolled Sasuke onto his back.

The sight that greeted him shocked him so much he didn't move for a few seconds. The entire section of the bed near the wall was drenched in blood, and Sasuke's front was also covered in the dark liquid. And more blood was soaking through the sheets by the second.

Snapping out of his shock, Naruto wrenched the sheets off Sasuke, seeing the two slit wrists.

"Fuck! Help!" Naruto hollered as loudly as he could, hoping, _praying_ someone was on the floor. "Somebody! Anybody!" He hastily grabbed a shirt resting on the back of Sasuke's chair and wrapped it around Sasuke's closest wrist.

Someone appeared in his doorway. "Wha—"

"Call an ambulance!" Naruto hollered, not turning to look at who it was. He needed to stop the bleeding. Shit! Shit! It was _everywhere_! And there was so much of it! "Call an ambulance, now! And get an RA!"

The person was gone before Naruto had even finished speaking, and the blond grabbed another random shirt to wrap around Sasuke's other wrist. The shirt around his right wrist was already soaked through, and Naruto couldn't help tears forming in his eyes.

"Fuck! Dammit, bastard, don't you _dare_ fucking die!" he hollered angrily.

But there was so much blood. God help him, there was _so much blood_!

Shakily, Naruto felt Sasuke's neck for a pulse. It was weak, but there. His breathing, though, had stopped. Panicking, Naruto struggled to remember what he was supposed to do.

With shaking hands, Naruto opened Sasuke mouth to clear his airways. He then pinched Sasuke's nose and breathed into his mouth twice, watching Sasuke's chest rise with the air he was forcing into the other boy's lungs. Sasuke didn't respond. Naruto covered Sasuke's mouth with his own again, blowing into his mouth a second time. Again, he watched Sasuke's chest rise, and pulled away. Again, Sasuke didn't respond. By the time he blew into Sasuke's mouth a third time, the raven let out a feeble cough and a wheezing breath.

"Shit. Shit." Naruto whispered, relieved, as he grabbed Sasuke's closest hand and pressed the blood-soaked shirt more firmly against the cut, trying to stop the bleeding.

"What the fuck happened?!" Naruto turned to the door, vaguely aware of the tears falling across his cheeks. Kotetsu ran into the room, surveying the scene before him.

"I-I came back for my Anatomy book and—I don't know what happened. He was just—he was lying in bed, and I called out his name, but he didn't reply and—" Naruto cut off as he began to hyperventilate.

"Calm down." Kotetsu insisted as he climbed onto the bed to reach Sasuke's other wrist, holding the shirt against it tightly. "It's okay. Everything will be fine. The ambulance is on its way." Naruto merely nodded. "Is he still breathing?"

"I-I checked earlier and he wasn't. I gave him mouth to mouth, and he started breathing again."

Kotetsu leaned down slightly, not relinquishing his hold on Sasuke's wrist, and brought his face close to Sasuke's. He felt a small breath hit his face, and winced. It was shallow, but it was enough.

Naruto was clutching Sasuke's wrist so tightly he was sure his roommate would wake up any minute and tell him he was hurting him. But he did not. Sasuke didn't move, remaining completely motionless, his face unnaturally pale—and considering how pale Sasuke had been before this incident, that was worrying.

Naruto had to admit, he was scared, not only for Sasuke, but for himself, too. People already looked at him as the son of a killer, save for a few. If his roommate suddenly died, he was going to have to leave the damn country to escape the threats and stares. It also didn't help that he'd noticed _his_ pocketknife on the bed as he'd been administering mouth to mouth. That would cause a lot of questions.

What seemed like an eternity later, but must have only been about a minute, ambulance sirens were heard, and paramedics ran into the room shortly after, Izumo behind them. He'd obviously let them in.

Pushing Naruto out of the way, the paramedics began working on Sasuke. Kotetsu moved out of their way on his own, standing beside Naruto and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"He's lost a lot of blood." One of the paramedics informed.

Naruto felt like yelling, "No shit!" but he refrained. Instead, he just watched in silence as they began to move him while one of the paramedics dipped some blood into a strange-looking device.

"Blood type is B."

"I'm a B." Naruto blurted out.

Two paramedics left the room with Sasuke as a third motioned for Naruto to follow, rushing hurriedly down the hall.

"Are you willing to transfuse?"

"Duh! It's why I said I was a B!" Naruto exclaimed. Were they idiots?

"We'll start in the van. He's lost a lot, he may not make it to the hospital if we don't start now." Naruto just nodded as they flew down the stairs and through the door. He climbed into the back of the ambulance where one of the paramedics was busy covering Sasuke's wrists to stop the bleeding, the other already inserting a needle into his arm to begin a transfusion.

Naruto sat down where he was told to and the needle was put into his own arm to begin the transfusion. He watched his blood flow through the clear tubing as the doors closed and the ambulance began moving, rushing them to the hospital.

Naruto didn't even notice he was clutching Sasuke's shoulder tightly enough to bruise.

* * *

Naruto felt light-headed. He knew Sasuke had needed a lot of blood, but they were in a hospital! They didn't have to suck Naruto dry like damn leeches! He was sure they had blood stored _somewhere_!

He leaned back in his seat, trying to make the dizziness fade. It didn't help. If anything, leaning back—even as slowly as he had—made it worse, and his vision began to swim.

_What was Sasuke thinking? _It was a question that kept repeating in Naruto's mind. He didn't understand. He began to wonder if it may have been his pranks, but in all honesty, they weren't _that_ damn bad! They were actually relatively mild so far. For Sasuke to have snapped like that—it had to have been deeper.

Naruto wondered if maybe it was his nightmares. Not the nightmares themselves bringing him to suicide, but maybe his nightmares were connected to something that would make him act this way.

Sasuke was stable for the moment, and was probably going to wake up sometime in the next hour. Naruto sure hoped so. The second Sasuke woke up, he was going to kick his ass! Naruto had never been so scared in his entire life! If he hadn't come back for his notebook...

Naruto's train of thought turned in a direction he didn't it want to go. It was true. What if he _hadn't_ come back in time? Sasuke would be dead, and Naruto's knife would've been sitting on the bed next to him. Never mind that Sasuke was seen in English with Naruto and then Naruto went straight to Anatomy. It didn't matter. All they'd have to see was the name Uzumaki, and he'd be hauled in. He shuddered at the thought.

High heels clanking loudly down the corridor alerted him to the presence of someone he wasn't expecting. Looking up, he saw Tsunade running towards him.

"Naruto, are you okay?!" she demanded as she reached him, bending down before him. "You're so pale. They took way too much blood." she muttered as she checked him out. She used to be a nurse, so her reaction wasn't too surprising to Naruto.

"I'm fine." he insisted, nodding weakly, even though it made his vision swim again.

"Have you called Hitomi? Does she know what happened?"

"Yeah, I called grandma. She wanted to drive down, but I told her not to worry. I'm fine, after all."

Tsunade stared into his blue eyes and lowered hers, hating she had to ask a question she didn't want to. "Naruto. You-you didn't..." Naruto's eyes widened.

"No!" he blurted out urgently. "No, of course not! Why-why would you think that?! Why would you—ask something like that?!" Naruto's heart suddenly felt too big for his chest and his hand came up to clutch it.

Tsunade wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back soothingly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby. I had to ask. I didn't want to, but I had to. I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't him." Both turned as they heard the new voice.

Kakashi was walking lazily down the corridor, only a few feet away from the two, his hands in his pockets. He didn't appear at all worried that the boy who was in his care was currently in the hospital, and this made Naruto frown.

"Oh, Kakashi. I didn't know you'd be here." Tsunade stood up. Kakashi merely nodded.

"I'm Sasuke's guardian. I know Naruto didn't do this. Sasuke's been suicidal since he was about nine."

"What?!" Naruto blurted out before rounding on Tsunade. "You had the son of a murderer roomed with a suicidal person?!" He managed to explode without raising his voice, and had Tsunade not been on the receiving end of his anger, she would have been impressed. Instead, she just winced.

"I didn't know." she admitted softly, turning back to Kakashi.

"He always tries, but he never succeeds."

"He was damn close this time!" Naruto spat. "He stopped breathing! If I hadn't come back..." Naruto trailed off as he felt his stomach churn, and not only because of where his thoughts went. He had to stop making sudden movements.

"Naruto, please. Calm down. Don't get overexcited, you've given a lot of blood." Tsunade held his shoulders firmly to keep him in place.

Kakashi himself was just staring wide-eyed at Naruto. Sasuke had _never_ been so close before. Kakashi knew he'd done well to get him a roommate, but it seemed that Naruto wasn't even supposed to be there. He'd only stumbled in by accident.

Kakashi was getting sick of this. He was going to have a talk with Sasuke, and force him to just move on. Itachi wasn't in control of his life, no matter _how_ much Sasuke seemed to think so. He'd had it with his attitude. Naruto had enough problems, he didn't need this.

* * *

Sasuke felt like shit.

No, actually, he felt _worse_ than shit.

To feel like shit would've been welcome compared to what he currently felt like.

And if he felt like this, it meant he was still alive.

_Shit. _

He could hear the telltale beeping of machines, and he knew he was in a hospital. Dammit, he'd been so close that time, too! There was a distinct period of time where he hadn't felt anything; he couldn't remember anything. How the hell had he survived, dammit! The only person who could've come in was Naruto, and he had class. That was the main reason Sasuke had decided to commit suicide at that time in the first place!

Great. Now he was going to hear another lecture from Kakashi. If he'd died, he would've been spared that, but _no_. He didn't die. And now, Kakashi was going to chew him out. Sasuke hated being chewed out by Kakashi. It was almost as exhausting as fighting with him, albeit, a lot less painful.

"You might as well open your eyes, Sasuke. I know you're awake." With a heavy sigh, Sasuke complied, his eyes slowly focussing on the people in the room.

Kakashi stood beside his bed, looking annoyed, and yet relieved at the same time. To see Kakashi showing this much emotion other than boredom told Sasuke just how close he'd come to succeeding.

His eyes fell on a woman next. He vaguely recognized her as the president of UBC, and he wondered why she was there. He doubted he was going to be kicked out, but to see her there was a little unnerving.

And finally, his eyes fell on the last person. Naruto was at the door, leaning his back against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his angry blue gaze directed right at Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed heavily. "Fuck. You mean I really _didn't_ die?"

Before Sasuke knew what happened, a fist connected painfully with his jaw, and he almost fell out of bed from the force.

"Naruto!" Tsunade stood from her seat to go to the blond, but Kakashi held his hand out, motioning for her not to intervene. Tsunade wanted to stop Naruto, but then again, Sasuke _was_ in Kakashi's care. There was nothing she could do if he would accept Naruto beating up Sasuke, so grudgingly, she sat back down.

Sasuke turned back to the blonde, stunned. Naruto had grabbed the side of his bed, breathing hard and shaking his head slightly. Sasuke realized he was trying to focus. That was when he noticed how unusually pale the other boy was. He'd gotten a good look at Naruto's skin colour the day he'd locked him out, and white _definitely_ was _not_ it. Naruto had obviously transfused to keep Sasuke alive.

"Bastard!" Naruto pulled back his fist to hit him again, but he didn't. Whether it was because he lacked the energy or he didn't want to hurt Sasuke even more, nobody could tell, but his hand fell back to his side. "Dammit! If my pranks were getting to be too much for you, you could've just _fucking told me_!"

Sasuke knew he wasn't being serious, but the tone suggested he thought maybe the pranks had pushed just that little bit further. Sasuke turned away from him.

"What could be so _fucking_ bad that you had to go and do _this_?!" He wrenched one of Sasuke's arms up into Sasuke's own face, showing the heavily bandaged wrist.

"You wouldn't understand." Sasuke whispered.

"Try me, asshole!" Naruto spat, dropping his hand and falling into the chair beside Sasuke's bed. He felt very tired, and wanted nothing more than to go home and forget any of this ever happened.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke muttered. "Surely you've heard the story."

"I remember that story." All three men turned to Tsunade. "Your brother killed your entire family, and you just barely managed to escape."

"Well boo-freaking-hoo!" Naruto growled. "My parents killed each other!"

Sasuke rounded on him. "You didn't almost die!"

"Where the fuck do you think I got these from, shaving?!" Naruto all but hollered as he motioned his face.

Sasuke had never paid too much attention to his roommate before, but now that he stared into his unnaturally pale face, he noticed three scars on both cheeks, almost like whisker-marks. Naruto then pulled off his shirt, shocking everyone in the room. He motioned his chest, where scars so light resided one would actually have to know they were there to notice them.

"I was two fucking years old." Naruto growled. "My mom tried to kill me, and she _did_ kill my dad! But you know what? Instead of trying to kill myself and give up the life I would've lost on that day, I try my best to live to the fullest. I'll try anything once, and I'll do anything that I enjoy as many times as I can. Why? Because I wouldn't fucking _be_ here if it weren't for my dad! I treat my life as a second chance because it _is_ one! Don't fucking throw it away when it was given back to you!" Naruto pulled his shirt back on and stood up, storming to the door. Before leaving, though, he turned back to Sasuke. "And next time you want to throw your fucking life away, do it with your own damn knife!" He slammed the door behind him.

* * *

If it was possible, things between Sasuke and Naruto after his attempted suicide got worse. Sasuke didn't really do anything to make it worse, but Naruto had such an aura of hatred about him that Sasuke began getting worried he'd burst into flames from just one look from the blond.

It had been a week since the incident, and his wrists were slowly healing, but he still had stitches on, and bandages.

Naruto hadn't told anyone what had happened on that day, and Sasuke was grateful for that. He didn't deserve to be protected by Naruto, and he knew it, but knowing Naruto cared enough not to say anything seemed somewhat important to Sasuke. It made him feel that somehow, maybe the two of them could get along. The worry Naruto had shown for him had shocked the Uchiha, and he'd never realized that someone who hated him so much could care about him almost as much.

He'd never really considered that Naruto was similar to him. All he ever thought about was the fact that one of his family members had killed all his other ones. Naruto's past was just as bad. Sasuke forgot about it mostly because he didn't want to think someone else knew how he felt, but he knew he was wrong to do so. Naruto had made him realize things he'd never thought of before, like the fact that maybe he hadn't died that day because he wasn't meant to. He'd even committed suicide numerous times and never died, so if that wasn't a sign for him to live, then nothing was.

Sasuke decided the very day he'd gotten a huge bruise on his face (1) that he'd drop option two and stick with option one. He _would_ become a detective and he _would_ find his brother! But—he wouldn't let that control his life anymore.

He'd always felt a weird sort of feeling in his chest when he saw groups of friends together, and it was only in the hospital after Kakashi had left that he finally realized what the feeling was. It was emptiness. He'd never really had friends, and he began to think that maybe he wanted some. He didn't want Itachi to ruin his life even when he wasn't there. Sasuke wouldn't _let_ him!

* * *

(1) My muse said this wasn't very clear, so: Naruto punches him, remember? Well, he punched him so hard, Sasuke gets a bruise. So essentially, he decided to change on the day he tried to commit suicide.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's taking so long for Sasuke and Naruto to get together. :sweatdrop: It's coming, I swear. There are just a few things my brain was ordering me to write before they could get together, so I'm doing that. It'll happen, though, I promise. Please bear with me.**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	7. Family

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: If they were mine... you would know... more shirtless Sasuke... lots and lots of Kiba... oh yes... life would be good...**

* * *

The morning had been as uneventful as it always was. Naruto was ignoring Sasuke more than ever, and the blond had practically rushed off to breakfast by the time Sasuke had finished changing. It was an odd sight, since usually, it was the other way around. Sasuke suspected the blond just didn't want to end up hitting him again.

Sasuke reached up and winced as his fingers gently brushed the bruise on his face. He'd deserved it, he would admit it, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. Naruto's words, though, were what had hurt the most. They had cut deep, helping Sasuke decide to change. It was a conversation he never wanted to take back. He was glad someone had come out and said something. Kakashi just yelled at him, but with Naruto—it had been different, and Sasuke was thankful for that.

The raven left his room, locking the door behind him, and went out the back door. He knew his fan girls would be waiting for him at the front door, so he always slipped out the back and stopped to get a coffee at the coffee shop a bit down the road from Wesbrook.

By the time he got to class, Naruto was already there, sitting with Gaara, and a professor stood at the front of the class. It wasn't Orochimaru, and it wasn't anyone that Sasuke recognized.

He took a seat closer to the front this time, waiting for the class to begin. And when it did, Sasuke was bored beyond belief.

He sat twirling his pen as the substitute droned on, and on, and on. _My God, this is boring,_ Sasuke let the pen fall back onto the table and buried his face in his folded arms. He could still listen like this, but either way, it didn't matter. He'd learned all of this crap in high school, why the hell were they learning it again? A recap, he could understand, but it had been two weeks since the start of term. Surely they should've moved on by now.

Orochimaru had called in saying he wasn't coming to class, and Sasuke was relieved. Instead, they'd gotten who he assumed was his brother, since he's introduced himself as Jiraiya Sannin. He was a good professor; Sasuke liked him. It was the damn _recap_ he didn't like!

Sasuke sighed and looked up, then frowned. He could see Tsunade standing at the door, staring at Jiraiya. As if looking at her had caused Jiraiya to turn, the professor turned around to write something on the board and saw her. He went to the door and opened it, the two exchanging whispered words.

"Naruto?" He turned to the blond as he looked up from his note taking. Jiraiya motioned Tsunade so, without a word, he packed up his things and went outside, wearing a frown on his face.

The door shut behind them, but Sasuke kept his eyes glued on the blond through the window. Jiraiya had started talking again, but even he was watching the occurrence outside. Naruto had his back to the class as Tsunade spoke, but Sasuke could see the president crying. After a few seconds, Naruto's hands came up to his face and the president hugged him tightly.

"Uh, I'm going to have to cancel the rest of class." Sasuke's head whipped to Jiraiya as he began packing away hurriedly. "Personal matters." With a loud snap, Jiraiya closed his bag and rushed to the door with it, opening it. "What's the matter?" He put one arm around Naruto and led him away, Tsunade on his other side, but Sasuke had seen a brief glimpse of the boy's face. He was in pure agony.

* * *

Sasuke awoke with a groan and turned to the other bed in the room. It was still perfectly made, and Sasuke was getting worried. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of his blond roommate for two days. Generally, he wouldn't have minded, but he couldn't get the look on Naruto's face out of his head, and it was slowly driving him insane.

He had looked like he was in agony. Pain was one thing, but agony? Physically, nothing was wrong, obviously, but what had happened for him to have such a look on his face? Sasuke didn't like it, and it worried him.

Absently, the raven wondered if he had looked like that when the police had found him after his parents had been murdered. Sasuke's hand unconsciously sought out the bandages around his wrist, rubbing his right wrist lightly.

After a few minutes, he sat up and climbed out of bed, glancing at Naruto's bed again. It was almost as if he thought the blond had suddenly materialized since he last looked. But Sasuke couldn't help it! He wanted to know what happened, it was driving him insane! The look on Naruto's face was haunting him. He could see it every time he blinked.

Sasuke began to pace restlessly in his room, glancing at the clock. It was still only eleven, which didn't surprise him, since he'd gone to bed around eight. He'd wanted to get rid of the image of Naruto's face, but it hadn't really helped. He was pretty sure he'd even _dreamed_ about it.

Finally, Sasuke had had enough. He pulled open his door, locked it behind himself, and then headed upstairs. He looked at the room numbers until he found the one he wanted, and knocked.

Kotetsu opened his door and looked out at Sasuke.

"Hi." Sasuke stopped there. He didn't know what else to say. He should've thought this out better. He hadn't really made any kind of plan, he was almost expecting Kotetsu to just read his mind and tell him what he wanted to know.

No such luck.

"Did you need something?" The tall RA leaned one arm against his doorframe, waiting for Sasuke to continue.

"I have a roommate." Sasuke said. "And, uh—he hasn't been back in a while. I was—concerned." Kotetsu pulled away from his door, turning to enter his room and grab a clipboard. He flipped a few of the pages and scanned them.

"Sasuke, right?" Sasuke nodded as Kotetsu turned back to him. "Yeah, your roommate, Naruto. He's home on personal leave."

"Why?" Sasuke blurted out before he could stop himself. Kotetsu shook his head.

"Sorry, I can't tell you that." Sasuke nodded.

"When will he be back?"

"Didn't say. Sorry."

"Thanks." Sasuke murmured, and left.

_Well, _his inner self mused, _that was __**really**__ helpful._ He couldn't help but agree. That had been useless beyond all reason, so with nothing better to do, he returned to his room. He flipped on the light and threw his keys onto his shelf. They hit something hard and he moved closer to see what it was. His phone.

Sasuke stood staring at it a long while, wondering why he felt he should be remembering something. He picked it up and scanned through it briefly, reaching the contacts after a few seconds. As he scanned them, the box stopped on Naruto's name. He'd completely forgotten he'd gotten his phone number for that one prank.

Hitting the send button, Sasuke put the phone to his ear. It rang. And that was all it did. Naruto did not pick up, and Sasuke was about to hang up when he heard the voicemail beep.

"The number you have dialled exists only in your imagination." Naruto's voice said cheerily down the line. "Please hang up, and don't call back. Psych!" The message beeped and Sasuke hastily hung up.

He'd been about to leave a message, but changed his mind. What was he supposed to say? 'Hey, Naruto, it's your asshole of a roommate. I was wondering if you were okay'? Yeah, he could see that going really well.

A loud bang on his door shocked him out of his musings and he put his phone down, opening his door. Kiba was standing on the other side, eying Sasuke suspiciously.

"I haven't seen Naruto in a while. You haven't killed him, have you?"

"He went home." Sasuke commented.

"Holy fuck, a complete sentence!" Kiba exclaimed. "Careful, you might actually turn into a human being if you go on like that."

Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes. "Was that all you wanted?"

"Yeah. As long as you didn't kill him, everything's cool." Sasuke closed his door in Kiba's face.

* * *

Sasuke pushed open the door, and almost heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the pile of blankets on the bed. That meant Naruto was back, and even if he was in bed, he was still back.

Sasuke closed the door quietly and shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at the bed. There was a small sob and the whole pile shook. Sasuke winced.

Slowly, he walked towards the bed, stopping to stand beside his roommate. "Hey." he said in a low voice. He didn't know if he'd been expecting a reply or not, but not getting one hurt. "Is everything okay?"

"Just do me a favour, will you?" The voice that emitted from the pile of blankets was gravely and thick from crying. "Just don't talk to me." Sasuke winced, but nodded, even though he knew Naruto couldn't see him.

Sasuke padded to his computer and sat down, casting glances over his shoulder at his roommate every few minutes.

This went on for the remainder of the evening and throughout the entirety of the next day. Naruto didn't get up to go to class, and Sasuke didn't make him. Sasuke entered and left the room numerous times between his classes, and still the blonde didn't move.

By dinnertime, Sasuke was getting really worried. Granted, he hadn't been there the whole day so Naruto may have gotten up to eat or use the bathroom, but he doubted it. He had a good memory, and since he'd stared at Naruto's bed for so long the night before, he'd practically memorized the way the blanket was laid out on him, every fold and all. They hadn't changed since Sasuke had first seen him, and he doubted Naruto could recreate every fold perfectly after having moved. That meant he hadn't at all.

He walked into his room and saw Naruto still lying on his bed, right where he'd been since he'd returned the day before. The folds were still the same, so Sasuke knew he hadn't moved an inch. He was getting more and more worried about him by the minute, but he didn't want to talk to an RA about it because he didn't think Naruto would appreciate it too much if everyone knew he was this upset—not that it was a secret, really, since Kiba came by three times a day since Naruto had left, and continued to do so now.

Sasuke padded towards his roommate and gently shook his shoulder. "Naruto?"

"Go away." he mumbled from beneath the blankets. Sasuke sighed.

"No, moron, I won't go away. You haven't moved since you got back. You have to eat." He moved away from Naruto's bed and placed a sandwich and bottle of water on Naruto's desk. He didn't know what Naruto liked, so he'd played it safe and gotten him a cheese sandwich.

"Who cares if I haven't eaten?" was the muffled reply.

"Don't you know the basic rule?" Sasuke sighed. "Three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. That's all it takes to die."

"The world would be better off with me dead, anyway." At this, Sasuke's head jerked back. He was angry. No, he wasn't angry, he was _furious_! How could Naruto have yelled at him in the hospital for having tried to kill himself, and now he was suggesting it? No, that was just—wrong!

Sasuke stormed towards the bed and grabbed the blankets. He yanked them off the blond roughly, throwing them to the floor.

"What the fuck!" Naruto hollered, turning to face Sasuke. He was wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue boxers, and Sasuke had to stop himself from admiring his roommate's toned body. He had a mission, here. Pleasurable things like checking out his roommate's chest could come later.

"Stop sulking, get up, and eat." Sasuke ordered, narrowing his eyes, daring Naruto to disobey.

"Go fuck yourself!" Naruto retorted, turning his back on Sasuke. Blanket or not, he wasn't moving.

Sasuke had had enough. Reaching across the bed, he grabbed Naruto's arm and yanked. Had Naruto been expecting it, he probably would have been able to counter it. As it was, he fell off the bed, landing softly on his blankets. A small consolation for having fallen three feet.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Naruto demanded angrily, wrenching his arm from Sasuke's grasp.

"You gave me a lecture when I tried to kill myself, and then you just turn around and say you'd do the world a favour if you died?!" Sasuke spat as the blond got to his feet.

"You haven't lived my life! You don't know what it's like to be Naruto _Uzumaki_!" the blond hollered in his face.

"And you don't know what it's like being an _Uchiha_!" Sasuke hollered back.

"We were doing just _fine_ with ignoring each other, so how about you just piss off and _leave me alone_!" Naruto turned to climb back into bed, but Sasuke didn't let him get that far. He grabbed Naruto's arm, yanking him back.

That was the last straw for Naruto, and he spun around, delivering a punch to Sasuke's jaw. The raven's head snapped to the side and he stumbled, losing his grip on Naruto's arm. Naruto breathed hard as Sasuke straightened, running the back of his hand across his lip. He saw blood on his pale hand, and looked up at Naruto.

"You fucking hit me again?" Sasuke whispered. Naruto said nothing. He just balled his fists at his sides and grit his teeth.

Sasuke hurled himself at him without a second thought, even though he knew it was a bad idea with his wrists still so raw. He landed a punch to Naruto's temple, but missed the kick he aimed for the blond's stomach. Naruto grabbed a fistful of Sasuke's hair and wrenched his head backwards painfully, tugging at the collar of the raven's shirt.

The Uchiha landed a kick to Naruto's shin, who yelped as he released Sasuke's hair, allowing the raven to pull free from his grasp on his shirt and roundhouse kick Naruto in the head.

The blond flew into the side of his bed, letting out a pained grunt as his torso collided with the wooden base. He turned just in time to avoid a kick in the back and slammed his elbow into Sasuke's face. Blood instantly gushed from the raven's nose, and he let out a howl as he clutched it. It wasn't broken, but it fucking _hurt_!

Using Sasuke's distraction to his advantage, Naruto kicked him in the stomach, causing him to double over, and then slammed his elbow into the Uchiha's back. The raven fell to the floor in a heap.

If anyone outside heard what was going on, no one did anything. The fight between the two hated roommates was bound to happen sooner or later, and everyone knew it. Anyone attempting to stop the fight would just be caught in the crossfire, and no one was willing to risk such injuries for the sake of two boys who were obviously going to kick the shit out of each other since day one.

And kick the shit out of each other they did. The two kept throwing punches and kicks at one another. Every time one of them looked like he'd be down for good, he'd pull some new trick out and gain the upper hand again. In the end, it was Sasuke who ended up victorious. Kicking Naruto's feet out from under him, he straddled his roommate's stomach and pinned his arms above his head, his face dangerously close to Naruto's.

"Now that I've got you calmed down," Sasuke hissed, his body throbbing painfully from the abuse he'd just received, "want to tell me _what_ the _fuck_ is _wrong_ with you?!"

"The last of my family just died, _you fucking __**asshole**_!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto wide-eyed, unable to speak. Naruto was breathing hard beneath him, and he saw tears welling in the blond's eyes. He squeezed them shut tightly and slammed his head twice against the floor, a sob escaping his throat.

"Fuck." he whispered, tears spilling from beneath his clenched eyelids.

Slowly, Sasuke released his hands and sat up, straddling his torso, "I-I didn't..." Sasuke trailed off, his throat dry. He didn't know what to say. Now he just felt like a complete ass. Not only had he beat the shit out of his roommate, he'd obviously forced him to reveal something about himself he hadn't wanted to reveal. "Naruto, I—" he cut off as Naruto shoved him off his torso roughly, getting to his feet. He turned to Sasuke, bruises forming on his face and chest, blood oozing from various cuts he'd received.

"I don't need your fucking sympathy!" he hollered. "Just leave me alone!" He turned around and threw open the door, stalking angrily past Kiba, who hastily plastered himself against the wall. It obviously didn't bother Naruto that he was walking around in his boxers.

Kiba stared wide-eyed at Naruto's bruised and bloodied form before glancing in the room at Sasuke. He was still sitting flat on his ass where Naruto had dumped him, staring at the door with a deer-in-the-headlights look. He didn't look any better than Naruto.

"Should I—get an RA?" Kiba asked.

* * *

Kakashi yawned as he headed to his door, knowing only one person who would come over this late. He pulled open the door, and his eyes widened.

"Sasuke! Wha—"

"I don't want a room transfer!" he blurted out, shoving past Kakashi. "If he asks to change, don't let him. I don't want him in a single!" Kakashi closed the door with a frown, utterly confused.

"Sasuke, what happened?"

"My roommate!" It was all he said.

Sasuke tugged at his hair as he paced in Kakashi's living room. He didn't understand what he was feeling. It was all new to him, and he didn't understand, dammit! Why did he feel so protective of Naruto when so far, the two of them had hated each other? Then again, why had Naruto been so concerned when Sasuke had slit his wrists?

"Sasuke, calm down." Kakashi insisted, somewhat at a loss. He'd never seen Sasuke like this, and he didn't really know what to do. Well, yes, he did. He had to clean those cuts, but after that, he wouldn't know what to do.

He led Sasuke to the bathroom, the raven still mumbling to himself and tugging at his hair. Kakashi suspected he may be drugged, but said nothing. He sat Sasuke down and opened his cabinet to pull out bandages and alcohol.

"Let's see your wrists." He took both of Sasuke's hands in his and inspected the bandages around his wrists. Neither of them showed any red, meaning they hadn't bled through. "You must be the only person alive who can get into a fistfight and avoid being injured in a place where you already are." Kakashi shook his head as he began to clean Sasuke's various cuts. "Tell me what happened."

Sasuke was silent for a long moment. So long, that Kakashi was starting to wonder if Sasuke was going to speak at all. But then, he finally did.

"Naruto's last living relative died." Sasuke whispered. Kakashi's hand froze where it was, and he looked up at Sasuke. The boy wasn't looking at him, but seemed to be staring blankly at the floor. "He found out a few days ago and went home. I didn't know. He came back and stayed in bed for two days. He didn't eat, and I'm pretty sure he didn't even go to the bathroom. Probably didn't sleep, either, since when I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was always sniffling. I was getting worried, so I forced him out of bed to eat. We fought, and then, he told me..." Sasuke trailed off. Kakashi knew the rest, anyway.

His guardian was silent as he worked on the cuts, letting what Sasuke had said sink in. He didn't know what to say, because he'd never had to worry about these kinds of conversations before. Sasuke had never been like this before.

"I don't understand." Sasuke covered his face with his hands. "Kakashi, I'm really confused."

"Why? Because you finally care about someone?" Kakashi inquired as he began putting everything away. Sasuke just stared blankly at the floor.

"Why now?" he whispered. Kakashi crouched in front of Sasuke, who was still sitting on the toilet lid. He wanted to be in Sasuke's line of sight.

"Maybe because you realized he and you have something in common. Because he understands how you feel the same way you understand how he feels." Kakashi _really_ wished Raidou was here. Raidou would be able to handle this. Kakashi couldn't. He was lucky he'd succeeded thus far!

Sasuke rubbed his face with both hands, wincing as various cuts screamed in protest to him rubbing them. He told them to shut up and take it.

"What do I do?" Sasuke inquired. "How do I—fix it?" Kakashi shook his head.

"I can't tell you that, Sasuke. If it's worth it, you'll find a way."

"It _is_ worth it." Sasuke insisted. Kakashi smiled, his eyes curving happily. Sasuke was becoming more human.

"Then you'll find a way."

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	8. The Prank War Ends

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: They're mine! MINE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
Random guy in white coat: Of course they are. Now put on the pretty white jacket and we'll bring you to a nice padded room before K. Masashi murders you for taking credit for his work. **

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the fight, and both boys were still in the same room. Of course, things had gotten even _worse_ since then, and Sasuke had tried to avoid Naruto as much as possible for the first week. He wanted to apologize, but he didn't know how.

Sasuke wasn't a people-person by any stretch of the imagination, but he wanted to fix things with Naruto. And since he didn't know how, he did it the only way that seemed logical. He restarted their prank war. He kept telling himself he owed the blond anyway for making him face his fan girls in nothing but a towel, but he knew it wasn't true. He wanted Naruto's forgiveness.

He wanted to change who he had become because of Itachi.

Sasuke broke his fourth pencil in ten minutes. His thoughts kept going back to Itachi, and how much he'd let his older brother ruin his life. He'd turned him into this unfeeling, uncaring being and he _hated_ it! He needed to change that, and the only thing Sasuke could think to do was befriend the only person who seemed to have an effect on him: Naruto.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the door opened, and Naruto walked in. He didn't have the angry aura anymore, and he wasn't stomping, but Sasuke knew he was still mad.

The blonde fell down at his desk, settling himself down. The two of them had their first Chemistry exam the next day, so they were both studying for it. Generally, friends would study for it together, but since they weren't friends—_yet,_ Sasuke's mind tried to remain optimistic—they were doing it separately.

Naruto reached for his book and Sasuke held his breath as he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. The prank would either make Naruto explode and attack him in fury, or it would make him explode and retaliate later. Sasuke prayed for the latter.

Naruto grabbed his Chemistry book and pulled it to him. His left eyebrow rose slowly as the book didn't budge. He pulled it again, but still, it remained where it was. He reached for another book, but it stayed where it was, too. Frowning, he stood up to inspect the books more closely, and his eyes widened. _That little son of a—_ Sasuke had glued his books to his desk! Actually, he'd glued _everything _on Naruto's desk to his desk. And from the feel of things, it wasn't ordinary glue. No, this was super glue.

Naruto didn't know what to do at first. Half of him wanted to rip his hair out and smash Sasuke's head into the ground, but the other half was wondering why he'd done it. Naruto didn't know much about his roommate, but he could tell he was the type who didn't know how to act around people. Was this—maybe this was his way of saying sorry?

Naruto almost smiled at the thought. Fine. If Sasuke wanted to keep playing, then Naruto would, too.

Sasuke watched Naruto, holding his breath. He hadn't exploded yet. Good sign. He hadn't attacked Sasuke yet. Even _better_ sign. He watched as the blond calmly stood up and went to his shelf, grabbing his phone and dialling a number.

"Hey, Gaara? It's Naruto. Listen, I ran into some difficulties, can I come over and study with you?" There was a pause as Gaara spoke. "Great, I'll be there in ten. Bye." Naruto hung up the phone as he grabbed his orange hoodie, pulling it on. Grabbing his keys, he left the room, leaving Sasuke alone.

When he returned hours later, Sasuke was in bed, and Naruto bit back a startled curse as his legs drew up short. Naruto couldn't help but feel that in some odd, unusual way, things had gotten back to normal.

* * *

"He's not coming, right?" Naruto asked as he worked on getting the washing machine to open. Damn these stupid automatic locks! He wanted the damn thing open!

"No, for the tenth time in as many seconds, he isn't coming, fuck." Kiba grumbled from the door.

The two of them were in the basement, pulling the next prank. It had actually been Kiba's idea this time, and Naruto had jumped on it. What made it all the better was the fact that just as Kiba had finished talking about it, Sasuke had left the room to do his laundry. He currently had a load of whites in the washer, and that was what Naruto was trying to get at.

"Finally." the blonde grumbled as the washer stopped and the door opened. He threw in a red shirt of his that had a tendency to bleed colour in the wash. He then closed the washer door and restarted the machine, patting it lovingly on the lid.

Kiba and Naruto left hurriedly, climbing the stairs back to second since the laundry room was in the basement. They entered Kiba's room and laughed heartily as they picked their controllers up again.

"Fuck, I wish I could see his face." Kiba smirked. "We should pretend we're going down there to do laundry when his cycle ends. That way, we'll get to see his face."

"Nah, he'll know it was me." Naruto insisted as he jerked his controller to the side, almost as if it would help his character move better.

Kiba snorted. "Dude, he already knows it's you. He doesn't even know about the prank yet, and he knows it's you. Who else would it be?" Naruto grinned.

"Fair enough. Doesn't mean I have to advertise it." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Then again, I kinda like that shirt. I should go down and pretend I didn't even know it was in there. Pull the whole 'Oh! So _that's_ where it went!' What do you think?"

Kiba laughed, shaking his head.

"I wish I had a roommate, fuck. You're having so much fun with this."

"You're helping me." Naruto shrugged. "Good enough."

The two of them continued to play for half an hour before pausing again and running downstairs. They were disappointed to find all of Sasuke's things had moved into the dryer, and Naruto's shirt was resting on top of the washer.

"Dammit. His clothes were already ruined, would it have killed him to dry my shirt, too?" Naruto pouted.

"At least you got it back."

"This is true." Naruto brought the red shirt back to Kiba's room and hung it on the door handle of his open door so that nothing would get wet.

The two continued to play until Shino came to get them for dinner, the five boys heading down to eat. As they sat in the cafeteria, chatting to one another, Kiba kicked Naruto under the table and motioned behind the blond. Naruto spun around and saw Sasuke wearing a shirt that probably used to be white, but was now dyed a beautiful pink colour.

He was standing at the checkout, and as soon as his food had rung in, he picked up his tray and headed in Naruto's general direction, not even noticing the blond was there. He walked right past them towards a free table, and Chouji snickered.

"Nice shirt!" Naruto called out with a smirk, Sasuke turning around as he recognized the voice. A small smirk graced the Uchiha's own face as he regarded his roommate.

"It takes a real man to wear pink." Shikamaru chocked on his orange juice as Naruto stared at Sasuke with his jaw hanging open.

"Well shit on me." Kiba muttered as Sasuke merely turned and sat down at a free table. "Not only does he not care, he's making a big show of it by _wearing_ everything you dyed!"

"Son of a—" Naruto sighed. "Oh well. I have to admit, it wasn't one of my better ideas."

"Hey! It was _my_ idea!" Kiba reminded him. "And it was good. He's just—immune to laundry problems, I guess."

"Well, he does live with someone who wears a mask." Shino reminded as he played with his pasta. "Perhaps he learned long ago not to care how he looked."

Deciding that was the reason behind it, the boys continued to eat.

After dinner, they all went back to Kiba's room to watch him play _Final Fantasy VII_. The _Final Fantasy_ games were probably the only video games with one player that everyone could love. It was so much fun to watch, and even though they rotated, Kiba played most of the time, and everyone else watched.

It wasn't until Naruto noticed how late it was that he decided he should take a shower before heading to bed. So, with that in mind, he returned to his room to grab everything he'd need, seeing Sasuke sitting at his desk, working on something or other. If Naruto cared what, he would've tried to find out, but as it was, he just wanted to shower and sleep.

Sasuke smirked as he heard the blond getting ready for his shower behind him. Naruto would have a nice surprise when he emerged, but Sasuke had held back, somewhat. After all, he loved the blond the way he was, so he didn't want to do anything _too_ permanent.

Sasuke waited patiently for approximately ten minutes before he heard the shriek of terror emitting from the bathroom. He almost laughed as he realized Naruto sounded like a girl when he was angry.

The door behind Sasuke slammed open, and he turned around innocently, the small smile on his face fading as he took in Naruto. He was wearing nothing but a towel, and he was still dripping wet. His hair was shaggy, and Sasuke found he looked—delicious.

Sasuke also noticed the tattoo around Naruto's navel. He'd noticed it before, at the hospital, when Naruto had taken his shirt off, but he hadn't really been focussed on the tattoo so much. Sasuke found it suited him.

It took a conscious effort for him to look up into Naruto's raging blue eyes instead of anywhere else. That towel threatened to fall off, and he wondered who he'd have to pray to for it to happen. He would see more of that deliciously tanned skin of Naruto's.

"Nice hair." Sasuke deadpanned. He then applauded his self-control. Naruto with red hair was hilarious.

"You _bastard_! What did you do?!" Naruto demanded. Sasuke merely shrugged.

"I returned the favour. I liked my pink shirt so much I thought I'd show you how fun it is to change things from time to time. Besides, it'll save you from having to bleach your hair again."

"I'm a natural blond!" Naruto hollered.

The words 'prove it' were just on the tip of Sasuke's tongue as his eyes flickered to the towel, but he managed to hold them in as his eyes returned to Naruto's face, instead saying, "Either way, change is good. Don't worry, blondie, the dye will come out in a few days. Unlike my shirts." Sasuke's voice went cold as he spoke of his whites. He'd kept the pink shirts, but thrown out all the pink boxers. There were limits to how much he could take. Pink boxers was passing that limit. He was just thankful most of his socks had survived the wash and remained relatively white.

"By a few days, how many do you mean, _exactly_?" Naruto ground out. Sasuke shrugged.

"Seven? Eight? It wasn't clear on the box." Was it just Sasuke, or was Naruto's face starting to resemble his now fiery-red hair? _My, my, he __**is**__ angry,_ Sasuke thought with a smirk. A part of him wondered if maybe he'd gone too far, but if he had, Naruto would've swung fists. Besides, Sasuke had admitted he'd drawn the line by making it temporary. Naruto had to give him _that_.

Clenching his fists, Naruto turned his back on Sasuke and stormed back to the bathroom.

"Holy shit! What happened to your hair?!"

"Not _now_, Kiba!" Naruto hollered from down the corridor. Sasuke only smirked and turned back to his work.

* * *

Sasuke winced as he shampooed his hair again. He should've known Naruto was going to play dirty. Then again, Sasuke should've known something was wrong with his gel the morning before when he'd put the stuff in his hand. It had seemed thicker and stickier than usual, but never had he imagined Naruto was going to put _glue_ in his hair-gel!

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk, despite the circumstances. Both of them had used glue and red in their retaliations for the opposite. Sasuke had glued down Naruto's books and the blonde—_currently redhead,_ Sasuke reminded himself with a snicker—had put a red shirt in his whites. Sasuke had put red hair dye in Naruto's shampoo, and Naruto had put glue in his gel.

Was it just Sasuke, or were things escalating a little?

He already had an idea of what his retaliation was going to be, but it would have to be when he was sure Naruto wasn't going to come back early. He knew the blonde spent a lot of time in Kiba's room after dinner, so he might try and do it then. He'd have to disappear after, obviously, so he'd probably head to Kakashi's.

Glancing at his watch, Sasuke grimaced. He didn't have any more time. He was going to be late, and he didn't want to be late for Chemistry. Sighing, he turned off the water and stepped out, hurriedly drying himself and returning to his room. Naruto was already gone, probably eating breakfast, but Sasuke didn't dwell on it for too long.

He changed hurriedly and rushed to Wesbrook, arriving just in time to not get in trouble. He took a seat at the back, as usual, and glanced down at Naruto. It looked funny seeing him with red hair, especially when he sat beside Gaara, whose own hair was such a fierce shade of red Sasuke almost wondered if _he_ dyed it.

Orochimaru started the class and Sasuke took notes, as usual, but the professor ended early to hand back the exams. Eager to know how he did, Sasuke flipped through his essay-style exam, and frowned. There were no ticks, no crosses, no signs that his exam had even been looked at. He reached the last page and saw two words. 'See me.' Those were never good.

_Shit, what if he thinks I cheated?_ Sasuke thought worriedly. _That, or he thinks I plagiarized or something. Shit, I __**hate**__ this!_

Deciding this was more important than a language he already knew, Sasuke skipped French in favour of going to Orochimaru's office. He knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open when he was told to do so.

Orochimaru's office was dark, and a little scary. There were jars of things Sasuke couldn't even begin to describe on shelves around the room, and there was a stench that made Sasuke almost gag as he entered the office.

"You wanted to see me regarding my exam?" Sasuke inquired as he moved forward.

"Please, shut the door." Without really thinking about it, Sasuke complied before taking a seat in front of Orochimaru.

The professor was staring at him, his hands folded together in front of him, and a look of hunger in his eyes. Sasuke tried not to dwell on it, preferring to just get this over with and leave. He could still catch most of French if he didn't stay long.

"I was concerned when I saw the note." Sasuke initiated the conversation, since Orochimaru didn't seem like he was going to. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, not at all. In fact, your answer was perfect." Sasuke nodded, confused.

"Okay, so why did I not receive a grade?" he inquired. Orochimaru stood up, and Sasuke's hands clenched on the arm rests.

"How badly do you want to know your grade?" the professor inquired.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke demanded coldly, narrowing his eyes.

"I wanted to know to what lengths you would be willing to go in order to find out your grade." Orochimaru's eyes scanned Sasuke and his tongue came out to moisten his lips. "We could even decide on your final grade right now." Orochimaru leaned down and Sasuke propelled out of his chair.

"Stay away from me."

He couldn't help but be afraid of this man. There was something about him—it was almost the way Itachi had made him feel, but not nearly as strong. Also, whereas Itachi stared at him with a lack of concern and hate, Orochimaru was staring at him with hunger and lust. He didn't like what that could lead to.

"Do I frighten you?" Orochimaru laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you." He advanced on Sasuke as Sasuke continued to move back. He bumped into a bookshelf and turned as he heard jars rattling. He didn't want anything weird falling on him and turning him into some sort of mutant.

When he looked forward again, Orochimaru had closed the space between them. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, but he struggled to keep the rest of his face impassive. He couldn't believe this was happening to him! He'd heard rumours about girls getting sexually abused by professors, but since when were _guys_ sexually abused?! (1)

Orochimaru reached up and Sasuke leaned back further, making the jars rattle again. Sasuke didn't move as Orochimaru ran his hand along his cheek and then down to his neck.

"You should think about my proposition, Sasuke." He smirked at the Uchiha. "You have potential to be great, and I can help you."

Sasuke hoped Orochimaru couldn't feel how fast his heart was beating with his hand on his neck. Sasuke wanted to get out of there. He wanted out. He wanted out _now_!

He stiffened as Orochimaru leaned forward, his lips barely grazing his cheek as they headed for his ear.

"Do you want my help, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He _couldn't_ answer! If he said no—which _was_ his answer—would Orochimaru force him into something anyway? And if he said yes just to get out of this, he'd be forced into something he didn't want. He couldn't win.

Sensing the Uchiha's hesitation, Orochimaru leaned back and removed his hand from Sasuke's neck.

"Think about it, Sasuke. Let me know." He backed out of Sasuke's personal space and the Uchiha felt like he could breathe again.

Orochimaru returned to his desk and flipped open his book, scanning the names until he reached Sasuke's. "You got a ninety-four."

Sasuke merely nodded before turning and hastily making his escape before Orochimaru had a chance to trap him again.

Sasuke's legs felt like rubber as he walked down the corridor, and his heart was beating way too fast. That had been terrifying—in a bad way! Sasuke turned the corner and leaned against the wall, trying to diminish his shaking.

"Fuck." he whispered, lightly slamming his head backwards against the wall. "Fuck."

It was a strange feeling; to be this terrified when his life hadn't even been in danger. Then again, he didn't know which was scarier—the way Orochimaru looked at him, or the way Itachi did. Orochimaru had seemed to want something Sasuke wasn't willing to give to anyone but the person _he_ chose. Itachi wanted his life, and as frightening as it was, Sasuke had attempted to take his life numerous times, so it didn't scare him as much anymore.

Sinking to the floor, Sasuke took a few deep breaths, playing with the bandages around his right wrist. It had become a comfort for him to play with the bandages, and even though they were still wet from his morning shower—it was hard to tell a patient with injuries so close to their hands not to get them wet—they helped calm him down a bit. He was _never_ going back to Orochimaru's office again, no matter _what_!

"I should've switched out after that first class." he muttered to himself, recalling the way Orochimaru had leaned so close to him that first day, and brushed some non-existent dust from his shoulder. It was too late to transfer into another section now, so he was stuck with Orochimaru for the remainder of the term.

Sasuke didn't know how much time he'd spent in Orochimaru's office, nor how much time he spent in the corridor afterwards, but when he caught sight of the time, he hastily got to his feet and headed for English. Kakashi would go ballistic if he didn't show up, especially after his somewhat recent suicide attempt.

As he walked, Sasuke's steps slowed as a thought occurred to him. His eyes widened, and he began walking faster, almost sprinting to his English class.

Sasuke stormed into the classroom and walked right up to Kiba, who was sitting on Naruto's left. Shikamaru occupied the right side. Sasuke stopped beside Kiba, looking down at him with dark, angry eyes.

"Move."

"Hey man—"

"Move!" Kiba jumped at the anger in Sasuke's voice and hastily moved from his seat, grabbing his bag. He went to sit with Hinata, who was occupying a table by herself, and Sasuke sat down.

Naruto looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. Sasuke was in an odd mood, _that_ was for sure.

"This Orochimaru Sannin, you know him, right?" Sasuke asked, staring down at the table where his clenched fists were.

"Yeah." Naruto replied, wondering what was wrong with the raven beside him.

"Would he happen to be gay?" Naruto's eyes widened and he looked down at his own table.

"Ah." was all Naruto said. He was now painfully aware of why Sasuke was acting the way he was. "Hit on you?"

"Understatement." Sasuke bit out angrily. His anger wasn't directed at Naruto, and a part of him hoped his roommate knew that.

Naruto did.

"You should talk to the head of Sciences." Naruto stated, crossing his arms and staring at the board, as if he were afraid to look at Sasuke.

"If I do, he'll know it was me, and he'll fail me."

"They wouldn't let him." Naruto insisted. "They would have another Chemistry professor grade your exams to ensure he didn't show bias." Naruto finally turned to look at Sasuke. "Trust me, don't just let it slide. It'll only get worse."

"You know from experience?" Sasuke inquired. Naruto winced and faced the board again.

"Something like that." the blonde whispered.

"I'm sorry." was all Sasuke said before he stood up and sat down somewhere else. After all, the two of them weren't friends—_yet,_ Sasuke's mind supplied, as it so often did when those words went through his head.

* * *

"I don't believe you." Kiba insisted, sticking his tongue between his teeth as he hit the buttons on his controller furiously.

"I shit you not." Naruto insisted, twisting his arms to the side, as if the movement of the controller would help what he was doing on the screen.

"There's no way, man. Cheats for this game can't already be on the Internet when it hasn't even been out for longer than a week."

"I swear, dude." Naruto paused the game and put the controller down. "Turn on your computer, I'll show you."

"Aw man, dude. It takes so long." Kiba insisted. Naruto sighed.

"_Fine_. Come on. We'll check it out on mine. I never turn it off." He motioned Kiba to follow him, and the boy did so, locking his door as he left. Usually, he wouldn't bother since he was only going down the hall, but there had already been a lot of thefts, and he didn't want to push his luck.

The two made their way down the corridor and Naruto opened his door, knowing Sasuke had gone to see Kakashi for some reason or another. He had heard him talking on the phone.

The door swung open, and both of them froze in their steps before Kiba howled with laughter.

"Oh, that's it!" Naruto went to his side of the room and found his toolbox, pulling out a few tools.

"What are you doing?" Kiba inquired.

Naruto turned, pointing a screwdriver at him. "I'm taking the bastard's bed apart! I'm hiding the pieces in your room."

"I'm game." Kiba's grin widened. "Want help?"

"Fuck yeah!" Naruto held out a second screwdriver, and the two of them got to work.

Sasuke had turned Naruto's half of the room upside down. _Completely_ upside down. His bed was upside down, his desk was upside down, hell, even his _lamp_ was upside down, and Naruto didn't _want_ to know how much glue the raven had used to pull _that_ one off.

As Kiba and Naruto worked, they continued to glance at the door for any signs of Sasuke coming back. Once they'd dismantled the entire thing, they called Chouji, Shino and Shikamaru down to help them move the pieces. They were too big to all fit in Kiba's room, so Shino and Chouji offered their rooms for other pieces. The only thing left was Sasuke's mattress, and Naruto was kind enough to leave him _that_.

The other four boys helped Naruto return his half to some semblance of order, listening to him grumble and mutter curses under his breath.

"What are you grumbling about?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh. "You just dismantled his bed. I think you won this round." Naruto paused what he was doing to turn to Shikamaru.

"You think so?"

"Admittedly, it was the better of the two ideas." Shino said, righting Naruto's lamp after finally having removed the glue.

"Thanks, guys."

After a few more minutes, they were done, and Kiba and Naruto went back to play more video games, completely forgetting the reason they'd entered Naruto's room in the first place.

Around nine, Naruto returned to his room to find Sasuke lying on his stomach on his bed, a folder in front of him. He turned to glare at the blond-still-redhead before focusing on his work again. Naruto just smirked as he grabbed a manga and jumped up onto his bed, reading it.

About an hour later, there was a knock at the door, and Kotetsu opened it when he heard the affirmative to do so. He stepped into the room, and froze, looking back and forth between the two boys. One was sitting high on his bed, a manga in his hand. The other was lying on his mattress, which was flat on the floor, his bed frame nowhere to be seen.

"Where's your bed?" Kotetsu asked slowly.

"I don't know." Sasuke said as he turned to Naruto with a fake smile. "Where _is_ my bed, Naruto?"

"Fuck if I know." Naruto grinned back at the Uchiha. Kotetsu let out a loud sigh.

"I was hoping they were rumours." He rubbed his eyes with both hands before letting them fall back to his sides. "I've heard about your war, guys, and it's time to stop. Little things like pink shirts and glued down books is one thing, but taking apart school property is going too far."

"He started it." Naruto said. "As childish as it sounds, he did. I just pulled my prank. If he doesn't retaliate and he leaves it at us being even, then I'm fine with that, and I won't initiate anything. If he retaliates, then I'll do the same."

Kotetsu levelled Sasuke with a glare that dared him to say anything other than he would stop. Being more practised at the glare Kotetsu was throwing at him, Sasuke didn't even react.

"Make him put my bed back together, and I'm finished. I won't do anything more."

"Put his bed back together." Kotetsu ordered Naruto, who nodded. "I came down here to tell you that the people in this room on fourth have a leak in the pipes under their room, and it's flooding into the room above yours. If you notice water starting to leak into your room, let us know and we'll move you to another until the problem is fixed. Bear in mind, the room change is _temporary_ and you _will_ find yourselves back in this room again, _together_." Both boys merely nodded. With that done, Kotetsu left, closing the door behind him.

The two boys sat in silence for a while until Sasuke finally spoke. "Good one, by the way."

"What?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Taking my bed apart." A smirk formed on Sasuke's lips. "I was impressed." Naruto grinned back.

"Yeah, well, I had to show an amateur like you how it was done." Sasuke let out a scoff, shaking his head as he sat up onto his knees.

"You going to get my parts?"

"Yeah." Naruto stretched, putting his manga down and walking to the door.

Sasuke hesitated as he watched him, then spoke. "Want help?"

Naruto froze in his steps, turning slowly to look at Sasuke. Had he really just heard that, or was he imagining things? The way Sasuke was looking at him suggested that, yes, he _had_ heard that.

"Uh, sure." he said uncertainly.

Sasuke let out a sigh, running his hand through his hair. He grimaced, still feeling chunks of glue in it. "Look, I know we started out on the wrong foot, and it was mostly my fault—"

"You mean _totally_ your fault." Naruto interrupted, a smug smirk on his face as he crossed his arms.

Sasuke sighed. "All right, yes, it was my fault. And..." Sasuke trailed off. He hated apologizing, and doing it to someone he'd only known for about a month was going to be a record. But, he _did_ want to change.

"And?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry." Naruto grinned.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He walked over and thumped Sasuke on the back. "You're still a bastard, though." Sasuke smiled at that.

"Loser."

The two went to Kiba, Chouji and Shino's rooms to get Sasuke's bed parts, and began to rebuild his bed. It took them about an hour together, and Naruto was surprised to find that it had taken less time to take apart. Then again, he was also blind with annoyance at the time, so that may have contributed.

He glanced at Sasuke on occasion, and noticed him running one hand through his hair before grimacing and returning to work. Naruto felt a small twinge of guilt. A _very_ small twinge.

"You know," he said simply as he finished with his side, "if you wash your hair with paint-thinner, it'll take out the glue." Sasuke looked up at him, and smiled slightly.

"If you wash yours with laundry detergent, it'll take out the dye."

"Sweet Jesus, thank God!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke just shook his head, smiling. He finished on his side, too, and the two of them hauled Sasuke's mattress back onto the bed frame.

"Are you really a real blond?" Sasuke asked, leaning back against his bed.

"You bet your ass."

"But your last name is Japanese." Sasuke insisted.

"Yeah, my dad was adopted." Naruto scratched the back of his head, wincing as he thought of Hitomi. The wounds were still raw. "He had blond hair and blue eyes, so I guess I got his genes."

Sasuke didn't ask about his mother. He knew the story, and he wasn't going to bring that up. Naruto didn't deserve that. He wasn't going to bring up his family again, actually. Not anytime soon, anyway. Naruto had gotten better, but Sasuke knew he was still hurting over the death of his grandmother.

"Don't you find it weird to have Kakashi as your English professor?" Naruto inquired as he folded his arms across his chest, leaning back on Sasuke's bed as well. The two of them were side by side with about a foot and a half of space separating them.

"Yeah, it's odd." Sasuke shrugged. "At least I know how to bribe him to pass, though."

"Shit, let me in on the secret, and I'll do anything." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"You that bad at English?"

"Nah, I just want to have high grades in everything so that my fail in Chem doesn't drag down my GPA." Naruto got bored of standing and jumped up on Sasuke's bed instead, leaning back against the wall. Sasuke merely turned, folding his arms on the bed and resting his chin on his hands, crouching slightly to stay in that position.

"Are you bad at Chem, or is it because of the creepy prof?"

"A bit of both. I'm not horrendous at Chem or anything, but it's definitely not my strong point." Naruto admitted with a shrug. "I would've transferred out of Orochimaru's class if I could, but the president of the university is his sister, and she's friends—" Naruto cut himself off and swallowed hard, "was friends with my grandmother. They arranged it for me to have him. They thought it would make me work harder." He forced himself to roll his eyes, as if trying to portray to idiocy behind it all.

Sasuke had noticed the pause, but Naruto had recovered so quickly he hoped he was okay and not just pretending. Sasuke knew what it was like to keep emotions locked away.

"I can help you out a bit with Chem, if you want." Sasuke offered. "I'm not half bad." Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What do you want in return?" he asked. Sasuke just laughed.

"I'll let you know." he said teasingly. Naruto just shook his head.

Sasuke wasn't the same cold bastard he'd met on that first day, and Naruto was beginning to wonder what had changed. The fact that he'd begun to prank Naruto again after their big fight was almost like an apology, and by retaliating, Naruto had basically said 'apology accepted,' but he still didn't know why Sasuke had suddenly done a one-eighty. He'd ask him another time. Things were going well for now, and he wanted to keep them that way.

"So, I noticed your cool tattoo." Sasuke jerked his chin in the direction of Naruto's stomach.

"Yeah, I liked it."

"I have one, too." Sasuke admitted.

"Really, where?" Naruto couldn't recall seeing a tattoo on Sasuke, so he suspected it was probably on his back or chest. He hoped it wasn't any lower, because they'd just become friends. He didn't want to get _that_ comfortable _just_ yet.

Luckily, Sasuke merely turned around and pulled off his shirt, revealing a small tattoo on his left shoulder, the black ink a huge contrast against his unnaturally pale skin. It looked like three black dots with a bent line coming from each one. (2) It looked pretty cool.

"Mine's bigger." Naruto teased.

Sasuke almost chocked on his own saliva, glancing at Naruto's shoes. _Yes, I'd be willing to bet it is,_ he smirked silently to himself.

* * *

(1) Guys out there, please don't take offence. I believe both guys and girls can get sexually abused by professors. This is Sasuke's mind, not mine.  
(2) The Curse Seal, obviously. Just like Naruto's is the Kyuubi seal.

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	9. Scavenger Hunt

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: I don't know K. Masashi, but if I did, we would be best friends. And then, he would give me Kiba for my birthday. Wearing a bow... yes... a bow... :3**

* * *

The next morning was weird for the two roommates. They had spent such a long time hating each other that now, they weren't really sure how to act. They said good morning to one another, and then began to get ready for class. 

Sasuke had managed to get the glue out of his hair in his morning shower, and when Naruto emerged, Sasuke was happy to see the blond locks again with only a faint hint of red still present. That would go away after a few more showers.

Naruto was just about to walk out of the room when he paused and turned to Sasuke, who was packing his books.

Naruto hesitated, then spoke. "Want to come for breakfast?"

The raven spun around to stare at his roommate before nodding slowly.

"Sure." He picked up his bag and they left the room.

Breakfast was slightly awkward, but they managed to speak a bit about themselves. Naruto found out that Sasuke's favourite colour was blue, and Sasuke found out Naruto's was orange, to which he'd replied, "Well _that_ explains a lot. I thought you just wanted to stand out."

It had been an interesting morning for the two of them, and as they walked up to Chemistry together, Sasuke worried about seeing Orochimaru. It seemed it didn't matter what time Sasuke arrived at, Orochimaru always found some way or another to talk to him and ask if he'd thought about his proposition. Sasuke shivered just _thinking_ about it.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, noticing the shiver.

"I'm trying to think of a way to evade Orochimaru." Sasuke muttered. Naruto just shrugged at this.

"You can just sit with me. I guarantee he'll stay away from you." Sasuke turned to the blond, stunned, but Naruto wasn't looking at him.

"If you don't mind my asking..." Sasuke trailed off, Naruto turning to him. "Why—doesn't he like you?"

Naruto smiled sadly, facing forward again. "Let's just say my dad got the same 'proposition' you did, and declined."

"Oh."

The rest of the walk was carried out in silence.

They arrived at Wesbrook and just as Naruto predicted, Orochimaru stayed away from Sasuke, shooting filthy glares at said blond. Gaara had watched Sasuke for a better part of the class, almost as if he was making sure Sasuke wasn't going to hit Naruto or something. Eventually, he ignored the raven and indulged in a game of Hangman with Naruto.

Sasuke had pointed out that Naruto probably didn't learn anything because he didn't listen, but Naruto had informed him that Jiraiya had given him all of Orochimaru's notes, so he didn't need to listen. He already had them all. He just didn't understand, and no amount of listening to Orochimaru was going to change that.

After Chemistry, they'd gone their separate ways, Sasuke heading to French, and Naruto heading to Math. Sasuke spent almost the entire French class thinking about his blond roommate. Naruto had pretty much forgiven Sasuke completely, and was now acting as if they'd been friends all along. Sasuke had to admit, it was weird, but he rather enjoyed the blond putting the past behind them.

When he got to English, he noticed Naruto sitting at the front with Kiba on one side, and hastily went to grab the other. There were two reasons for his haste. One was because he actually wanted a seat beside the blond, and the other was because Ino and Sakura had just walked in, and were probably going to forcibly drag him to a seat so they could attach themselves to him. _Like leeches,_ Sasuke thought with a shudder.

"You seem to shudder a lot." Naruto noted, causing Sasuke to turn to him.

"When you're me, you have a lot to shudder about."

Kiba's head leaned forward so he wasn't blocked from Sasuke's line of sight by Naruto's head. "Hey, Sasuke-bastard, are you not a bastard anymore?"

"Nah, he's still a bastard." Naruto smirked. "But I can handle him."

The three of them joked until Kakashi got there—or, Naruto and Kiba joked and Sasuke smirked or "Hn"ed. Once Kakashi walked in, he did a double take as he noticed Sasuke beside Naruto, left the classroom, and came back, making sure he wasn't seeing things. He blinked at Sasuke a few times before shrugging and walking to the desk at the front of the class, starting the lesson.

* * *

Naruto was sitting at his desk, tapping his pen against his forehead continuously as he re-read the passage in front of him. Sasuke was lying on his bed, reading the same passage. The two of them said nothing to each other, both absorbed in what they were reading. 

Naruto finally threw his pen down and turned around to look at Sasuke. "So those books he talked about at the beginning of the year." Sasuke looked up at him.

"What?"

"The books at the beginning of the year. Kakashi talked about a series we could read for extra marks. I was just wondering what they were, seeing as how I have to up my GPA because of my grade in Chem."

Sasuke smirked slightly, liking where this conversation was going. It would answer a question he didn't even have to ask anymore. This was good.

"Well," Sasuke sat up, smirking down at the blond, "basically, they're porn books."

"Interested so far." Naruto smirked. "I _am_ a guy." Sasuke smirked back.

"Well, it depends."

"On what?"

"Where your sexual preferences lie." Sasuke deadpanned. Naruto blinked.

"What?"

"It's a book about gay guys." Naruto's face paled. _Well, that answers __**that**__ question,_ Sasuke thought with a sigh.

"Oh." was all he said. "But y-you don't _have_ to be gay to read them—right?"

"Of course not. It's odd and fairly rare, but you wouldn't be labelled as being gay if you read it." Sasuke shrugged.

Naruto had the question on the tip of his tongue. He was _just_ about to ask if Sasuke was gay, since he was talking so non-chalantly, but then their door slammed open. No knocking, no warning, just a slammed open door and a whole lot of Kiba.

"Yo!" he hollered as he jumped into the room. "Shino has this fucking kick ass Engineers thing to do! He's allowed to pick whoever he wants to help him so he wants to know if you're game!"

"What is it?" Naruto inquired with a frown.

"It's an all night Scavenger Hunt! They have to go all around Vancouver and find all sorts of weird shit, and he wants us to help him out. He borrowed his dad's pickup, so we'll have enough space for a few people plus what we need to steal. Are you game?" Kiba's eyes twinkled with mischief, and if there was one thing Naruto loved, it was mischief.

Naruto grinned. "Hell yeah, I'm in!"

"Solid! Sasuke-bastard?" Both boys turned to the raven.

"I wasn't aware I was invited." Sasuke replied easily.

"Well, now you're aware, fuck. You in?" Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, who grinned.

"Come on. It'll let the other guys get to know you." the blond insisted as he stood up and headed for his closet to grab his hoodie.

Sasuke sighed and put his things aside, climbing off the bed.

"Solid!" Kiba hollered as he ran out of the room. "Shino! They're game!"

"Lucky we don't have labs tomorrow, huh?" Sasuke smirked at the blond. He nodded.

The two of them made their way to Shino's room once their door was locked and they waited for all the others to get ready. The team consisted of Shino, Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke, Chouji and Shikamaru. Shino didn't want them to split up, because it wouldn't be as much fun, so they decided to all stay together.

Shino closed his door as he scanned the list, all six of them wandering down the corridor. "We should start with everything on campus, and then work our way out. We're going to need to get to the US border, too."

"Fuck!" Kiba exclaimed. "That bitch is _far_!"

"That's why we've got all night." Shino said as they pushed through the front doors and headed for the parking lot. "This doesn't have to be in until noon tomorrow in front of the Forestry building down in the Engineer's part of campus."

"Wait, why are we headed for the parking lot if we're starting on campus?" Naruto inquired.

"Most of it is up near the village. Saves us the walk back to get the pickup." Shikamaru replied as they entered the garage and headed for Shino's Ford. Shino and Chouji got the front and the other four were thin enough to fit comfortably in the back, asking Shino what they were going to do first.

"There are thirty items in total. We'll start with campus things, move out to Vancouver things, and then head for the border. Any personal items we have we'll get at the very end before we clock in."

"So what's first?" Kiba inquired as Chouji surveyed the list.

"On campus, we can steal a 'speed hump' sign. They have them all over the place. I think that would be the best place to start."

"There's one right there." Naruto pointed in between Chouji and Shino, straight ahead of them. They stopped the pickup and all of them climbed out. "Do you think you need the entire thing, or just the sign?" he inquired, scratching his head.

"We'll just take the sign. Entire thing will take forever to take out of the ground. Besides, they don't specify." Kiba smirked as he pulled out a drill.

He got the sign off the post in less than five minutes and, throwing it in the back, the six of them got back in the car.

"Next, either a picture of someone on top of the Student Union Building, or someone jumping off the ten metre high dive of the outside pool near the bus loop. Double points if the person jumping is naked."

"Sold!" Naruto hollered, slamming his hand on the back of Chouji's chair. "I'm in!"

"You'll do it?!" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto grinned at Kiba. "It's a picture from far away, they won't see anything. I'll just take my boxers off at the top to spare any of you the embarrassment of seeing how much bigger I am, and someone can run them back down for me."

Sasuke's brain threatened to overload. _Naruto? Naked? Picture?_

"Speaking of which, someone brought a camera, right?" Shikamaru asked.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds until Sasuke blurted out, "I've got one."

"You carry one around for fun there, Sasuke-bastard?" Kiba asked with a grin. Sasuke _really_ wished he'd stop calling him that.

"No, it doubles as an MP3. I always have it in case I need to drown out annoying dogs barking." He turned to level Kiba with a glare. "In case that was too cryptic, _you_."

"Oh, I got it, Sasuke-bastard, I just chose to ignore it." Kiba flashed him a grin, not fazed at all with Sasuke's glare.

"SUB or the pool first?" Shino inquired.

"SUB is on the way. We'll do that first, then head for the pool. I'm gonna be wet in your truck, Shino." Naruto informed.

"I am aware of that. I'm sure the upholstery will survive."

They stopped outside the SUB and the five boys rock-paper-scissored who would go up on the SUB, Naruto being excluded because he was going to jump off the high board. Shikamaru ended up losing, so with a sigh, he headed for the building.

"So troublesome." Climbing the large structure with the agility of an acrobat, he stood on top of it, his hands in his pockets, and assuming a lazy posture. Sasuke took the picture and showed it to Shino before they motioned for Shikamaru to come down. The raven wanted the pictures to be okay with Shino before continuing on. He loved his digital camera, and it was about to become his most prized possession as they neared the pool, walking the short distance.

"Okay, Naruto. You ready?"

"Hell yeah." He grinned at Shino.

Naruto reached behind himself and tugged his sweater off, pulling it over his head before tossing it to Kiba. He did the same thing with his shirt, rolling his head to crack his neck.

Sasuke's eyes wandered openly because he knew no one could see his dark eyes in such dim light. His friend seemed oblivious as Sasuke took in his tanned skin. He was broad in the chest area, and muscles rippled across it as if carved of stone.

It wasn't the first time Sasuke had seen the blond's chest, but it was the first time he'd had the chance to actually _stare_ at him. _Don't drool, don't drool, don't drool..._ The thought was on a loop in his head, and he actually reached up to check his mouth wasn't open.

Naruto then proceeded to kick off his shoes as he unbuttoned his jeans, kicking the blue material off to expose blue boxers with a large red fox.

"Nice boxers." Kiba teased.

"You're just jealous cause they're cooler than yours." the blond teased back as he walked towards the ladder to head up to the diving board. He climbed it quickly, reaching the top and dropping his boxers. "Ready, Sasuke-bastard?"

"Don't call me that, or I'll make sure I don't get the picture and make you do it again." Sasuke called up. Naruto's only reply was a run and jump. He let out a scream as he sailed through the air, landing in the pool with a large splash. Sasuke smirked at the picture. He was _definitely_ keeping this.

Naruto surfaced, spitting water out of his mouth as he swam to the edge. "Okay, someone go get my boxers." There was silence as all five boys stared at one another.

"I did the SUB." Shikamaru insisted, leaning back on the fence. The other four shared a look, then glanced back at Naruto.

"You're a big boy." Shino finally said. "I'm sure you can get them."

"Aw, man! You guys suck!" Naruto swam across the pool to get out on the other side.

_No!_ Sasuke's mind shrieked, his inner self crying and pounding his fists on the ground. _No, come back! Come out on __**this**__ side! __**This side!**_

His pleas went unheard as Naruto pulled himself out of the water across the pool. Sasuke had to admit, seeing Naruto's firm backside as he pulled himself out and walked towards the ladder was a decent consolation. His inner self pouted as he realized that, had there been more light, the brief walk back to the ladder would've exposed a lot more since the blond was being viewed in profile.

Naruto retrieved his boxers and then wrestled with Kiba for the rest of his clothes. Sasuke had wished that _he'd_ received Naruto's clothes so that _he_ could get his hands all over that caramel coloured goodness.

They all piled back into the car, Naruto shaking the water from his hair to annoy the others.

"So, where to next?"

"Well, I guess it depends." Chouji said as Shino started driving. "We'll have to separate what people have, and what we need to get."

"Read off the list, it'll make things easier." Sasuke replied. "Anyone who has any of these things, just say so, and Chouji can tick them off."

"Sounds good." Kiba agreed.

"Okay. A door handle off the Richmond centre. A Smartcart from the airport. A midterm with a grade lower than eleven percent."

"Got one." There was silence in the car, and everyone looked at Naruto. "Hey, my Chem prof hates me, okay! Keep reading!" Chouji cleared his throat.

"Uh, a banner off the bridge in Richmond. _Twenty-four_, _Metro _or _Dose_ newspaper box. Nintendo Visor."

"Got one." Kiba informed. Chouji checked it off.

"Okay, potted palm tree. Picture of a three layer human pyramid in front of Science World."

"Your camera have time setter?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke. He nodded the affirmative and Chouji continued.

"Receipt from the US for Doritos and beef jerky." Chouji paused. "I'm fairly sure I have one."

"Solid." Kiba smirked.

"A beer you can't get in Canada."

"Got some." Shino replied. "I have German beer. It's illegal here."

"Well, well, breaking the rules, huh, Shino?" Naruto teased. The other boy just grinned.

"Okay, a police hat."

"Haven't got one, but I know how to get one." Naruto replied. "We'll have to go out to Mission, though."

"We can do it before heading to the border." Shino agreed.

"Right, so that's all right. Um, handcuffs, and you get double points if it's real."

"Again, I can do that." Naruto assured.

"Picture of someone on a cop car, picture of someone _in_ a cop car, picture of someone eating doughnuts with a cop."

"Done, done, done. Next."

"Are you sure, Naruto?" Shino asked, looking at him through the rear-view mirror.

"Oh yeah. I have a kid I used to baby-sit down in Mission. His dad's a cop and worked closely with my dad, so we get along great. He's like an older brother to me. He'll do it for sure."

"Good." Shino felt reassured.

"Okay, moving on." Chouji scanned the list to find his place again. "Science undergrad jacket."

"Got one." Sasuke assured them.

"Excellent." Chouji checked it off. "A picture of someone defiling a statue. No vandalism, though, so we're pretty limited. A full size golf course flag."

"Got one." Everyone turned to Shikamaru. "Don't ask."

"A sex toy—I guess we can go to any porn shop. Someone here is nineteen, right?" Chouji asked the group. There was silence.

"I'll try and get my friend back home to buy something for us." Naruto assured them.

"Okay, next. A—penis enlarger." Again, silence. "Have to admit, I didn't expect anyone to volunteer information on that."

"Hey, you all saw I was well-endowed. I don't need one of those." Naruto grinned.

_Didn't see well enough, in my opinion, _Sasuke mused, pouting slightly as he looked out the window.

"A picture of someone hugging a border guard. A boarder guard's badge."

"Oh, I want to steal the badge!" Kiba exclaimed. "I rock at that shit, fuck!"

"I don't want to know." Shino admitted.

"Picture of fourteen people naked on a transit bus."

"How the hell are we going to pull off _that_?" Shikamaru demanded.

"I can do it." Naruto said.

"Even though you like being naked, you're still one person." Kiba teased.

"No, I'm serious. I can get you fourteen people naked on a transit bus." The other boys were silent.

"Well—cool." Chouji said uncertainly before continuing. "Picture of a bus driver flipping us off. Picture of four people naked in a fountain."

"Four of us can do that." Kiba said.

"I don't think so. I'm not dropping my drawers." Chouji insisted.

"I'll do it again." Naruto grinned.

"I'll do it." Kiba agreed.

The other three were silent.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto insisted. "Everyone here not man enough to compare their package with my whopper?"

"I'm going to make you eat those words, Uzumaki."

"Sweet, Sasuke-bastard's in. One more." Kiba grinned. "Come on, just one."

"It's my hunt." Shino said with a sigh. "I'll do it."

"Solid!" Kiba cheered. "We got ourselves a team of four."

"Not looking forward to getting wet again, though." Naruto said with a sigh.

"Two more items. Chocolate flavoured condoms."

"Check." Kiba informed.

"And the worst porn magazine ever."

"Fuck me, check." Kiba groaned. "Wasted twenty bucks on it, too."

They started their little hunt after this, starting off in Richmond for the door handle and banner. Both were surprisingly easy to acquire, especially when one considered the security. Of course, Kiba almost died on the bridge when he and Naruto began to goof around and he almost fell off the support beam, but they all had a good laugh about it as they moved on to the next task.

They went to the airport next to steal a Smartcart, and had to flee the angered airport staff as they noticed the boys loading it into the back of the pickup. Of course, they got away.

After that, they went to a store to buy a potted palm tree, since they couldn't think of any other way to acquire one, and noticed a _Twenty-four_ newspaper box right outside the door of the shop. It took some doing, but they managed to steal it and get it into the back of their truck without anyone noticing.

They next went to defile a statue. They weren't sure what to do, so Shikamaru just got up on the large, bronze horse and began to drum on the head. Sasuke took a picture _and_ a video, just to make sure they got extra points for creativity.

They reached Science World next and set Sasuke's timer on his camera. Chouji, Naruto and Kiba were on the bottom, Shino and Shikamaru getting the next layer, and Sasuke on the very top. They all fell in a giant heap once the picture was taken, laughing until Chouji accidentally kicked Shino in the groin. Chouji drove to their next destination.

They found a bus next, and told the driver to flip them off, which he happily did when they continued to annoy him. Their next problem was making him let them put fourteen naked people on his bus.

"I'll handle this one." Naruto insisted. "Just wait in the car until I say."

The others were confused, but they did as the blond asked. They saw him talking to the bus driver and twenty odd people on the bus. Naruto spoke for about five minutes before walking along the aisle and handing what looked like a slip of paper to everyone. Soon, the entire bus had stripped down, including the driver. Naruto exited and motioned for Sasuke to take the picture.

"Driver said he'll flip us off again naked to score us extra points. Got everyone on the bus naked, too. There's about twenty-two of them, so that'll be extra points, as well."

"What did you _do_?" Kiba asked, amazed, as Sasuke disappeared to take the pictures. Naruto just shrugged, unwilling to divulge that information. When Sasuke returned, they got back in the pickup.

"What next?" Shino inquired.

"Well, we have the sex instruments, the fountain, and the cop stuff."

"Fountain. Everything else will be in Mission."

They found a nice little fountain downtown with hardly anybody around. It was close to two in the morning on a Wednesday, so this didn't surprise them. Kiba and Naruto stripped hurriedly and flew into the fountain, laughing heartily. Sasuke was surprised—and disappointed—to see that the fountain was about waist-deep, hiding Naruto's lower region.

Sasuke and Shino stripped to their boxers, and then stopped.

"Come on, Sasuke. Drop 'em!" Naruto exclaimed. "Too scared to show us your tiny manhood?"

"Big words for someone who's never shown his." Sasuke smirked. "You've gotten naked twice, and we haven't seen it."

"I didn't know you were looking." Naruto batted his eyelashes stupidly and Sasuke blushed slightly. Shino turned to him, noticing the hint of pink on his cheeks. Sasuke looked at Shino, and his blush deepened. He hastily yanked off his boxers and threw himself into the fountain. Shino followed seconds later, not commenting on Sasuke's blush. Shikamaru took a picture and the four boys flew back out with a splash, grabbing their clothes and yanking them back on.

"Mission now?" Shino asked as he got back behind the wheel.

"Yup. It takes about two hours to get there—well, for normal people. I drive a little crazily, so it takes me almost forty-five minutes or so." Naruto informed.

"Insane." Chouji muttered.

"But useful. We have a time limit. Naruto, you're driving." Shino got out of his seat.

"What?!" four voices exclaimed, only to be drowned out by a, "Sweet!"

The two switched and headed for Mission. Naruto managed to slow down a _little_ bit, and they reached his friend's house in an hour.

"Will he be up?"

"He's used to me coming around at all hours." Naruto replied to Chouji's question, opening the door and climbing out. All five boys looked at the cruiser parked in the driveway as they climbed out, Naruto making his way to the door and ringing the doorbell. Two minutes later, the door opened.

"It's you! You're back!" The young boy of about twelve launched himself at Naruto, almost sending the blond toppling backwards.

"Nice to see you, too, Konohamaru. Your dad in?"

"Hey, Naruto." A tall man emerged from the house. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey Keita." the blond greeted.

Keita's eyes scanned the five boys by the truck, and then his eyes moved to the contents in the back. He let out a sigh.

"I don't want to know, do I?"

"We're doing a Scavenger Hunt." Naruto replied. "We need a couple of pictures involving a cop. I know it's a lot to ask, but do you think you could go put on your uniform and indulge us?"

"Ah, University Scavenger Hunt." Keita sighed. "I remember my university years. Girls, parties, booze."

"Missed papers, failed midterms, eviction." a woman teased as she came up beside her husband. "Hello, Naruto."

"Hey Yuki." Naruto grinned at the annoyed look on Keita's face.

"I'll go get into my uniform." He turned and disappeared into the house.

Yuki's eyes scanned the five boys by the truck, all of them leaning against it. "Who are they?"

"Believe it or not, friends." Naruto said with a smile. Yuki smiled back.

"I'm glad. Are you going to introduce us?"

"If you want." The blond shrugged as he turned around and motioned the five boys over. They complied, walking slowly up the driveway. "Guys, this is Yuki and her son, Konohamaru. I used to baby-sit him, and Keita was good friends with my dad."

"They got put together on a lot of cases." Yuki informed, smiling at the boys.

"Yuki, Konohamaru, these are Shikamaru, Kiba, Sasuke, Chouji and Shino."

"Nice to meet you." Sasuke replied politely.

"We apologize for bothering you so late in the night." Shino added. Yuki just waved her hand at them.

"Not a bother at all, I assure you. We're used to random visits from Naruto. In all honesty, we quite missed them." Naruto laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his head.

Keita reappeared seconds later.

"All right, boys. What do you need?"

"A hat and handcuffs." The older man frowned at Naruto. "_Please_, Keita?" With a sigh, he pulled a set of handcuffs out of his belt, and then threw his hat at the blond. "You're lucky I've got a soft spot for you."

"And extras." Yuki shot in.

"_Thank you_, dear. Isn't it time for Konohamaru to get back to bed?"

"Aw, but I want to hang out with Naruto." the boy insisted.

"No, bed." Keita insisted.

"I'll take him. It was nice meeting all of you. Nice seeing you, Naruto."

"Nice seeing you." Naruto replied.

"Bye, Naruto!" The two of them disappeared back into the house as Shino returned from having put the handcuffs and hat in the pickup.

"What do you need?"

"We need a picture of one of us on the cruiser, and another _in_ the cruiser." Naruto informed as they headed for the police vehicle. Keita nodded.

"Keep it on the hood, okay?"

"Sure thing." Naruto reassured. "Who's on the car?"

"Me! Me!" Kiba ran to it and lay down on the hood, posing idiotically. "Do I make you horny? Randy? Do I make you horny, baby, yeah!"

"Stop talking." Sasuke took the picture and Kiba laughed as he jumped off.

"All right, boys." Keita clapped his hands together, grinning. "Who wants to hang out in the cruiser?"

"Hey, how about you, Naruto?" Kiba grinned at him. The colour drained from Naruto's face, and his eyes widened. Kiba's grin faded. He'd forgotten who Naruto was.

"I-I'd rather not." the blond stuttered.

"I'll do it." Sasuke cut in hastily to avoid the awkwardness. "You can handcuff me, too, for more points."

"Good idea." Shikamaru smirked.

Keita put handcuffs on Sasuke and then put him in the car. He got in the front and even turned on the lights to add in the full effect.

Sasuke tried to look vicious as he plastered both handcuffed hands on the window, growling at the five boys beyond the glass. Shino laughed as he took the picture, and nodded when it came out. Keita un-cuffed Sasuke—despite Naruto's complaints, "I'll get a double room to myself if he's locked up!"—and Chouji surveyed the list.

"We need to have a picture of someone eating doughnuts with the cop."

"Willing to go down to Tim Hortons?" Naruto inquired.

With an explosive sigh, the police officer agreed, getting in his own car to lead the way for Shino. They took the picture and then begged Keita to go and buy them the penis enlarger and another sex toy.

"I'm never doing this for you again, boy." He fake-glared at Naruto as he handed the blond what he'd bought.

"I owe you, Keita, thanks. Consider this advanced payment for my next babysitting job."

"I'll hold you to that, brat." Keita smirked as he headed for his car. "Hey, you, roommate." Sasuke turned to him. "Make sure he stays out of trouble, okay?"

"This one is beyond help." Sasuke deadpanned. Keita laughed as Naruto socked him across the back of the head.

"Bastard."

The boys all returned to the car to head for the border, where Kiba seduced and stealthily stole one of the border guard's badges. They all only thanked God there was a woman on the night shift or they would've had a hell of a time trying to steal one.

By the time they got home, it was close to nine in the morning, and they _still_ weren't done. Going to each of their rooms for whatever they'd claimed to own, they regrouped at the pickup and headed to Forestry, where a group of Engineers were already gathered. They were the ones who were going to count up the points.

In total, the boys had three hundred and eighty-two points. They were the second group back, but the first group hadn't gotten a few of the things. They suspected Shino's group was the only one who would have the border guard's badge and the fourteen naked people on a transit bus.

"What do we get if we win?" Kiba inquired.

"Free Ipod each, and a party in any of the Engineering buildings."

"Sweet!" Naruto and Kiba high-fived.

"What about second place?" Chouji inquired.

"A case of beer. Should appeal to you, since you're all minors." One of the guys grinned.

"Awesome." Shino smirked.

"Well, good job, boys. We have Shino's e-mail; we'll let him know the results. Go home and get some rest."

Waving, the six of them returned to the pickup with their personal items, leaving the rest with the Engineers, and went back to the dorm. Naruto and Sasuke stumbled sleepily into their room, closing the door. Naruto jumped onto his bed, still fully clothed, and was snoring seconds later. Sasuke changed before getting into bed, soon following the blond into sleep.

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	10. Poor, Poor Sasuke I

**© 2006 ****FastForward**

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi tried to give me Gaara this time. I declined... and almost died in a sand storm... and then Itachi found me. GET THEM AWAY!**

**A/N: Yay! Exam period! I'm so excited (please note the sarcasm...) Yes, it is exam period. I will try to continue updating as often as I have been, but I can't guarantee it'll be quite as fast. I apologize.**

**I would also like to thank you all SO much for reviewing. There are a few people who review consistently, and I am very grateful. It's nice to know your work is being appreciated while it is being read so, thank you very much :) **

* * *

Sasuke padded over to the bed across the room, shoving its occupant in the arm. He had woken up, showered, dressed, and even finished an assignment, and the blond _still_ wasn't up. Sasuke shoved him again, and all he received for his efforts was a groan.

"Get up, moron, it's late enough."

"Fuck off, Sasuke-bastard." the blond muttered from beneath his blankets.

"You won't be able to get to sleep tonight if you don't get up now. It's already two-thirty."

"S'my problem, isn't it?" was the sleepy reply. Sasuke sighed, leaning forward on the bed.

"Do you remember what happened _last_ time I told you to get up and you didn't?" A small hole appeared in the blankets and a sleepy blue eye appeared, staring out at the raven.

"You wouldn't." Sasuke yanked the blankets off the blond.

Apparently, he would.

"Dammit, Sasuke!" Naruto hollered, sitting bolt upright.

"Get out of bed yourself, or I'll pull you out. Your choice." The raven insisted as he moved out of Naruto's reach, still holding his blanket.

"You are one sadistic bastard, you know that?" Naruto grumbled as he slid off the bed, rubbing the back of his head. "Shit, I feel awful."

"I would, too, if I fell asleep in those clothes." Sasuke motioned Naruto's jeans and hoodie. "That can't be comfortable." Naruto just shrugged.

He then proceeded to pull off his clothes, leaving them in his wake as he walked to his closet. Sasuke's hands tightened on the blanket as he watched him move. He still had his shirt and boxers on by the time he reached the closet, but he looked like he was about to take those off.

"Si-since when do you change in front of me?" Sasuke choked out, cursing himself for sounding like a lovesick puppy.

The blonde turned to him, and he steeled his face into a look of indifference, hoping the drool on his chin wouldn't give him away.

"You saw me naked twice last night. Somehow, I doubt you're going to see anything you haven't already seen." The blond pulled off his shirt, and Sasuke hastily spun around, feeling like an idiot.

He knew if Naruto took off his boxers, he would jump him. Somehow, he didn't think that molesting his roommate was a good idea, especially now that he was pretty sure said roommate wasn't gay.

_I'm going to have to do something about that, _Sasuke thought with a sigh, throwing Naruto's blankets back onto his bed. _The question is, how do you convert a straight guy?_

"Hey, bastard." Sasuke turned his head, and froze. _Oh my God! Holy shit! SweetJesusMarymotheroffuckingGodohmyGodohfuckmeshitless!_

Naruto was facing him. Completely naked. Oblivious to the war in Sasuke's head. Half of him was telling him to look down that tanned body, while the other half was forcing his eyes to remain fixed on the blond's.

"Do you want to head off and get food when I'm done?" Naruto pulled on a pair of boxers, and Sasuke couldn't decide if he was upset, or relieved. He chose the latter, letting out an almost inaudible sigh.

"Whatever." He turned back to his desk and strode over to it, slamming into his chair and pulling out his biology book.

"What did I do?" Naruto asked, confused, from behind him.

"Nothing." Sasuke muttered.

"Shit, man. For someone who woke _me_ up, you're pretty grouchy." the blond muttered.

Sasuke winced. He had no reason to be mad at the blond. After all, it wasn't Naruto's fault he didn't know Sasuke was gay. It wasn't Naruto's fault Sasuke was gay. And it certainly wasn't _Naruto's_ fault that he was drop-dead gorgeous and particularly well endowed.

Sasuke looked up, as if speaking to a God he didn't even believe in. _Why do you hate me?_

"You coming?" He spun around to see the blond fully clothed, raking his hand through his blond hair.

"Yeah." Sasuke stood up and grabbed his keys and meal card, the two of them leaving the room.

They went to the cafeteria, and had a peaceful meal, the two of them discussing their various opinions of their professors. Sasuke knew most of them on a personal level, so it was harder, but he told Naruto he'd gotten off easy with Genma as opposed to Gai.

"Hey, I have an idea." Naruto said around a mouthful of pasta. "Tomorrow, you don't have class when I have Anatomy, so you should come hang out with me in that class. In return, I'll go to your Geology class. I want to meet this 'Gai Maito' character, anyway."

"Trust me, you don't." Sasuke insisted.

"No, seriously. Come on." He kicked Sasuke lightly under the table. "It'll be entertaining."

With a defeated sigh, the raven agreed.

They finished their meal and were heading back to their room, when they bumped into Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" The lazy teen shrugged at Naruto's inquiry.

"I heard from Shino that we won. He picked the Cheese (1) to have the party. It's tonight."

"Sweet!" Naruto bounced around excitedly as Chouji spoke. "Booze and women for all!"

Sasuke winced at this, but said nothing. After bidding the other two farewell, they returned to their room to hang out. As Sasuke closed the door behind them, he thought of something.

"Say, Naruto?"

"Hm?" the blond inquired.

"How did you get all those people naked on the bus?" Naruto just stared at him before looking away and shrugging.

"Must be my charm." He turned back, grinning at the raven. Sasuke frowned.

"I saw you handing out paper." Naruto's grin dropped.

"Just let it go, okay, Sasuke." Naruto walked to his bed and jumped up onto it, grabbing a manga and beginning to read it. Sasuke walked towards Naruto's bed, hands in his pockets.

"Will I ever find out?" he inquired.

"I'll tell you when I'm ready." was the blond's reply as he continued to read.

Knowing he wasn't going to get anything more from his roommate, Sasuke went to his computer and began to watch a movie. Ten minutes in, Naruto had joined him at his desk, sitting in his own chair, the two of them watching it in silence.

* * *

Sasuke's head hurt.

Sasuke's eyes hurt.

Sasuke's _butt_ hurt.

To put it plainly, all of Sasuke hurt.

He hardly saw how allowing them to throw a party was a prize for everything they did. Given, the Ipods were nice, but the party? Unnecessary. Sasuke would've preferred if the six of them had just gone downtown to grab a bite or something.

Of course, the other five were having the time of their lives. And who could blame them? It was Sasuke's own fault for not liking women, and he knew it. What he hated, though, was that women _loved_ him. He'd spent the better part of the night trying to fade out of existence to stop girls from pinching his butt. He didn't know what their fascination was with it, but it was annoying.

He'd managed to fade from view, climbing onto the floor above to hide in the projection room. He had a beer, and a perfect view of Naruto, so he wasn't complaining. Besides, he could hear the music, so what did it matter?

The raven watched Naruto dance with girl after girl, probably being the most popular guy there after Sasuke. Since the Uchiha had hidden, though, that left only Naruto and thousands of rabid, hungry, drooling girls. Sasuke almost wanted to go save him, but then he'd be seen. No, Naruto could take care of himself. _Besides, _the raven thought bitterly, _he doesn't look too upset about the attention._

That was when the blond suddenly jumped onto a table. Girls started screaming as he began to slowly pull off his shirt. Sasuke's hand clenched, unconsciously crushing the can of beer in his hand.

"What does he think he's doing?!" Sasuke growled aloud to himself.

"Giving the girls a show." Sasuke spun around, startled, as Shino came towards him. "He doesn't know it bothers you."

"It doesn't bother me." Sasuke grumbled, turning back to look at the blond.

"So the way your hands are clenched—that's just normal, right?" Shino teased, coming up beside Sasuke. The Uchiha just grunted, unclenching his fist and throwing the destroyed can into the nearby garbage. Naruto had kicked off his shoes at this point, and was working on his pants.

"Does he know?"

"Know what?" Sasuke demanded.

"That you're gay and you want him."

Sasuke said nothing to this for a long while, thinking of all the lies he could throw out at Shino. But then, what was the point? It was obvious he knew.

"No, he doesn't." he finally replied.

"Naruto seems easygoing." Shino commented as the blond's pants flew into the crowd of screaming girls. "He wouldn't care if you were gay. You liking him might concern him a bit, though."

"Are you here to give me advice, or state the obvious?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"I'm just saying you should probably try not to look at him the way you were last night. At least, not to his face." Shino smirked at the raven.

"I'll keep that in mind." Sasuke muttered.

Naruto was now standing on the table in his socks and boxers. The blond was gyrating his hips. It was sending the girls wild—and they weren't the only ones drooling over the blond. Sasuke couldn't get his eyes off him, no matter how much he told himself to look away.

"That's the look I'm talking about." Sasuke's head whipped around to Shino, who seemed amused. "I'll see you later, Sasuke." The other boy left the room, leaving Sasuke alone to stare at the blond.

His fists clenched as Naruto held his hand out to Sakura, inviting her up onto the table with him. She hastily climbed on and began to grind with Naruto. Sasuke was seeing red.

"He rivals you in yumminess, Sasuke." The raven spun around to see Ino slowly walking towards him. "And he seems more willing than you. Jealous Naruto's getting more attention than you?"

Sasuke wasn't jealous of Naruto. He was jealous of the _girls_. Most especially Sakura, right now.

Ino came up beside Sasuke, looking out at Naruto, "Hot damn! You get a _much_ better view from up here." She grinned as her eyes scanned the half-naked boy on the table. Sasuke wanted to pull her filthy eyes out for _daring_ to look at _his_ Naruto!

Sasuke looked back out at his roommate, and saw Sakura running her hands along his chest.

"You seem to get more and more jealous by the second, Sasuke. Wishing she'd do that to you?" Ino teased with a smirk.

Sasuke would admit it. Yes, he was jealous. However, the only thing he was jealous about was the fact that _Sakura _could run her hands along Naruto's chest, and _he _couldn't.

"You should know something about me, Ino." Sasuke stated calmly. The blonde girl beside him waited patiently, wondering what exactly he was planning on telling her. Sasuke turned to look at her, his eyes hard. "I'm gay, so the only person I'm jealous of right now is Sakura."

Ino burst into hysterical laughter. "Good one, Sasuke." She continued to laugh. "You? Gay?" She leaned against the wall to keep her balance because she was laughing so hard.

"Believe what you want, it's the truth." Sasuke turned back to watch the two dancing on the table. Naruto looked so damn _happy_. Sasuke had had enough.

Without a word to Ino, Sasuke turned and left the room, heading back down to the large area below. He pushed through a group of girls who grabbed for his shirt, trying to get him to dance with them. His glare sent them scurrying away. He suspected it was more venomous than usual, because they normally didn't back off so fast.

He made his way to the table where Naruto and Sakura were still dancing, the two of them dangerously close to kissing. Sasuke suspected they would in a few minutes if they didn't right now. The raven slapped his roommate in the shin, forcing Naruto to look down.

"Sasuke!" he boomed.

"You like getting naked, don't you?" Sasuke hadn't meant for it to come out as harsh as it had. The blond noticed, because he frowned and let Sakura go, bending down to be at eye-level with Sasuke.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm heading back." Sasuke grumbled.

"Why?"

"I don't want to stay."

"Oh." Naruto was disappointed.

He hadn't seen much of Sasuke during the entire party and the thought of Sasuke not enjoying himself made Naruto feel bad for having such a good time.

"Hey, if you help me find my clothes, I'll go back with you." Sasuke's eyes lit up, but his face remained impassive.

"Deal."

"Sorry, babe. I'll see you later." Naruto called to Sakura, who'd been watching the whole exchange in silence.

Naruto and Sasuke pushed through the crowd to get his things. Sasuke had to wrestle Naruto's shirt from a girl who refused to give it up, but a threatening look that promised her sweet and painful death made her let go. He found Naruto by the door, already wearing his pants and shoes, his hoodie in his hand. He threw the blond's shirt to him as he grabbed his own hoodie from the table by the door, and the two of them left.

"I'm sorry you didn't have a good time." Naruto said as they walked back to Vanier.

"Not your fault, Naruto."

"What happened?" Sasuke glanced at his roommate before looking straight ahead again.

"I don't like being places packed with girls. They always try to attach themselves to me."

"And that's a bad thing because..." Naruto trailed off so Sasuke could finish the sentence.

Sasuke sighed, wishing he could tell Naruto the truth, but knowing he couldn't. Not yet.

"Because they don't see me as Sasuke Uchiha, they see me as a gorgeous guy they can just have if they try hard enough."

"Modest _and_ gorgeous." Naruto teased. "Will wonders never cease?"

"I'm serious." the raven snapped.

Naruto sighed at Sasuke's tone, his smile fading. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe it's your standoffishness that makes it hard for anyone to get close to you? I mean, take our first day here. You wouldn't even hold the fucking _door_ for me." Sasuke winced.

"I'm not a people person." he grumbled.

"I have an idea." Naruto said, swinging his arm around Sasuke's shoulders in a friendly gesture. "Tell me which girl you like, and I'll help you out with her. I'm not bad with the ladies—until they know my last name, at least." Naruto sighed explosively before turning to Sasuke with a grin. "So spill. Who is she?"

"I don't like a girl." Sasuke insisted.

"What? You liar!" Naruto shoved Sasuke away from him playfully. "I've seen that look in your eye. You've got someone in mind. You can tell me, I'm not going to _steal_ her or anything." He grinned at Sasuke. "Of course, I can't guarantee she won't fall in love with me after finding out how wonderful I am."

"Modest _and_ wonderful." Sasuke teased, repeating Naruto's own words. "Will wonders never cease?"

"Ha, ha." Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. "Smartass."

They walked on in silence, Sasuke's hands in his pockets and Naruto's clasped together behind his head.

"The truth is," Sasuke whispered, almost too low for Naruto to hear, "I don't think the person I like can ever like me back."

"You're insane, Sasuke." Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're a good guy once you've taken your stop-being-a-bastard pills. And you're not half-bad to look at." The blond shrugged. Sasuke's eyes widened, but he made sure not to look at Naruto.

"Thanks." he whispered.

The rest of the way home was carried out in silence.

_

* * *

_

"_You're a good guy once you've taken your stop-being-a-bastard pills. And you're not half-bad to look at." _

Sasuke frowned as he lay on his back on his bed, both hands behind his head. What had Naruto _meant_ when he said that? Was he subtly hinting he was gay, but didn't know how to tell Sasuke? It wasn't like guys walked around all the time telling each other they "weren't half-bad to look at."

Sasuke rolled onto his side, staring at Naruto as he slept in the bed across the room. His head was above the covers for once, one arm thrown over his eyes and the other dangling off the bed.

He didn't know what to make of Naruto. On the one hand, he was so flirtatious with the girls, and on the other, he seemed to say certain things that suggested he either didn't know he was talking to another guy in a way most didn't, or he knew exactly what he was doing and he was sending messages to Sasuke.

Sasuke couldn't decide because, in all honesty, he knew Naruto had never had many friends. For him to suddenly have all of these friends—it was probably new to him. He didn't know how to act with them. _But he's only ever said that to me,_ Sasuke insisted to himself.

_So __**you**__ think. He might have said it to Kiba or someone else, _his inner self argued.

_But Kiba would've called him on it and told him not to say things like that, _he argued with himself.

_Not unless Kiba's gay and has a thing for Naruto, too._

_Fuck, that dog-face __**better**__ not try to dig his claws into __**my**__ Naruto! _

_He's not yours._

_Not __**yet**__, you mean._

_You keep telling yourself that._

_Don't make me come in there and beat you into non-existence!_

_I'd like to see you try!_

Sasuke was more than happy to continue arguing with—himself, when Naruto stirred and spoke.

"Sasuke." Sasuke sat bolt upright, turning to the blond with wide eyes.

_Oh dear God. He's still asleep, and he practically moaned my name!_

The blonde stirred, rolling onto his side so he was facing Sasuke. "Come on, Sasuke." he mumbled, his eyebrows furrowed.

Sasuke's mouth went dry as his heart began jackhammering in his chest. Slowly, he climbed out of bed, walking across the room to Naruto.

"I know that's not all you've got!" Sasuke's heart beat even faster. Was—was Naruto dreaming what Sasuke _thought_ he was?!

_Oh God, oh God, oh God... _Sasuke's hand was shaking as he reached for Naruto's shoulder to shake him awake. He didn't know what he was going to say to the blond yet, but he'd figure it out when sky blue eyes stared into his own black abysses.

"Bullshit, you've got more money than that, now buy me more ramen!" Sasuke's hand froze a few centimetres from Naruto's shoulder.

_Ramen?_ His inner self burst into fits of laughter. Sasuke himself couldn't decide whether to follow suit, or break down and cry. With a sigh, he let his hand drop and stood beside Naruto, defeated. The blond obviously had no idea what he was doing when he'd told Sasuke he wasn't bad looking.

"I'm going to have to have a cold shower eight times a day." the raven muttered, crawling back into bed and turning his back to the blond.

Across the room, blue eyes opened sleepily, pondering what Sasuke had meant when he'd said those words. He'd woken up when the raven had sighed, confused as to why Sasuke was beside his bed. Shrugging it off, he turned his back on Sasuke as well, and went back to sleep.

* * *

"I can't. Believe. I'm sitting here." Sasuke admitted. "Genma is going to have a field day."

"It can't be _that_ bad." Naruto insisted as he pulled out his books.

"Oh, no. It's that bad." Sasuke insisted.

Neji and Tenten had called Naruto earlier that morning to say they weren't coming. Tenten's mother was in the hospital, and Neji was driving her home to see her. Naruto had assured them he would lend them his notes when they got back.

So, that left Naruto and Sasuke alone. They were in the second row, and the closest people to the front. After the first two days, most people had migrated to the back because Genma freaked them out so much.

"Sasuke!" The bellow was probably heard throughout the entire building.

"Like I said, it _is_ that bad." Genma appeared beside him instantly, grabbing the boy in a huge hug. Sometimes, Sasuke didn't know who was worse: Gai, or Genma.

"How are you? Why are you sitting with Naruto? Oh my God! Have you _finally_—"

"Hi, Genma, nice to see you, too." Sasuke interrupted with a look in his eye. Genma noticed it. He just chose to ignore it.

"_So_, Naruto! Why are you sitting here with Sasuke?" He waggled his eyebrows at the blond. Sometimes, Naruto wished Genma _hadn't_ learned his name.

"We're roommates. I promised to go to his geology class to see his weirdo professor if he came to this class with me." The blond shrugged non-chalantly.

"Yeah, Gai's kind of a psycho."

"This coming from _you_?" Sasuke asked as he pulled free from Genma's grasp to sit back down.

"I'm high on caffeine and good sex, Sasuke. He's just crazy." Genma insisted as he sat down in front of them. He still had five minutes before class started. "By the way, Raidou and I were wondering if you'd thought about that proposition we made you a while back." Sasuke's eyes widened, and he forced himself not to look at Naruto.

"Proposition?" his roommate asked, confused.

Sasuke shook his head slightly at Genma, giving him a look that promised he'd rip off Genma's balls and feed them to him, but again, Genma ignored it. He turned to Naruto to answer his question.

"Yeah, Raidou and I propositioned Sasuke to join us for a threesome. He's a sexy little man, isn't he, Naruto?" Naruto shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

"I'm feeling very uncomfortable with this conversation." Genma's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"You're not gay?!" he all but hollered, causing numerous people to stop their conversations and look at the pair talking to the professor.

Sasuke buried his face in his hands. He was going to hurt Genma in so many ways he was never going to speak _ever again_!

Genma pulled the toothpick out of his mouth, pointing it at Sasuke as he continued to talk to Naruto. "So, why are you with Sasuke again?"

"We're roommates." Naruto repeated. "We share the same room in Vanier."

"I thought you hated your roommate." Genma said with a frown.

"You _like_ listening to my conversations with Neji and Tenten, don't you?"

"'Course." Genma put the toothpick back in his mouth. "You guys are interesting."

"Yes, I used to hate Sasuke, but we fixed it."

"Nothing a little sex can't cure, huh?" He winked at Sasuke, but the raven missed it. He was too busy keeping his face buried in his hands and shaking with anger.

Sasuke stood up, grabbing the cuff of Genma's shirt. "A word. Now." He hauled the professor to the front of the class and out the door. Naruto had to admit, it was an interesting sight, seeing a student—even one who didn't belong to that particular class—pulling the professor out the door.

On the other side of that door, Sasuke shoved Genma angrily.

"Dammit, Genma! He doesn't fucking know I'm gay!"

"Why?" The longhaired professor inquired.

"Because I haven't told him yet!"

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm waiting for the right time!"

"Why?"

"I'm going to rip off your balls!" Sasuke hollered.

This shut Genma up, recalling the last time Sasuke had made such a threat. The toothpick-chewing older man had continued to bother him—only to find out the raven was serious. He hadn't been able to walk properly for a month. Genma winced just thinking about it.

"So, what's the deal?" he inquired, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall, trying to calm down. Sasuke just sighed, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair.

"He doesn't know I'm gay, that's all. I don't want him to find out and freak out. We've been through too much shit already this year for me to lose him over my sexual preferences."

"The fact that he's a walking version of a Greek God helps too, right?" Genma teased.

"Fuck off, Shiranui." Sasuke threw open the door and stormed back to his seat beside Naruto.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Nothing, fuck. Every time Genma talks about me, ignore him. He's a horny fuck."

"You're spending too much time with Kiba, Sasuke." Naruto teased before turning back to Genma, who started the lesson.

* * *

"He _can't _be as crazy as Genma." Naruto insisted for what seemed like the eightieth time in ten seconds.

"I'm not going to argue with you anymore, Naruto." Sasuke insisted. "You'll just have to see for yourself."

"Naruto!" They both turned to the door as Lee ran in. "I am so excited to see you! I did not know you were in this class!"

"Hey, Lee." Naruto greeted as the green-clad boy sat down beside him. "I'm just here with a friend. We're comparing psychotic professors."

"I don't understand why you are in this class, then. Professor Gai is amazing! He makes you feel like your youth will never disappear if you remain as young at heart as he is!"

"Uh, yeah." Naruto turned back to Sasuke, a confused look on his face. He leaned closer to Sasuke to whisper to him. "Lee is usually a little crazy, but he seems more so in here."

"It's the professor. He drives people crazy." Sasuke whispered back.

Before Naruto could say anything, the door slammed open, and Gai walked in, laughing heartily.

"Hello again for another fantastic day of Geology!" he exclaimed, practically prancing to his desk and dropping his books onto it.

Sasuke cast a glance at Naruto and smirked. He'd won the psychotic teacher selection if Naruto's face was any indication.

"And who are you?" Gai asked as he bounded over to Naruto. "I remember every youthful spirit I ever see! You are filled with youthful energy, therefore, I would have noticed you before!"

"This is Naruto, professor Gai!" Lee exclaimed from beside Naruto. "He is in my Physics class! He is amazing!"

"Amazing?" Gai laughed, standing right in front of Naruto, his hands on his hips. Naruto couldn't help but cringe. There was just _so much __**green**_!

Gai's eyes fell onto Sasuke, and the raven's eyes widened. _Oh shit, _he thought urgently. _He's not going to—_

"I see!" Gai wrenched Naruto from his seat, startling the blond, and hugged him tightly. "You have helped Sasuke find true love! It's most wonderful when two young men such as yourselves find one another and drown yourselves in loving embraces! We must watch the sunset together later!"

"Actually, I haven't helped him find his true love yet." Naruto gasped, almost unable to breathe from the tight embrace. Gai let him go and he fell back into his chair.

"What do you _mean_ you haven't helped him find his true love?! You must not be modest! You are indeed a true find!" Sasuke's head slammed against the desk as Naruto stared wide-eyed at Gai.

"E-excuse me?!" Naruto demanded. "Am I _missing_ something here?!"

"No!" Sasuke's head shot up, a large red mark on his forehead where he'd hit it on the table. "Genma and Gai just get enthusiastic when I have friends. I've never really had any before."

"Friend?!" Gai demanded, smiling brightly. "You are _friends_?! Oh, well that's _wonderful_!" He grabbed Naruto again, who looked at Sasuke in distress, but Sasuke could do nothing as the blond was pulled back into a tight embrace. "I am so happy Sasuke has finally learned to make friends!"

"Can we start the class now?" Sasuke asked, his face buried in his hands. He wanted to sink into the floor, but right now, it didn't appear that God was going to grant his wish. _You're punishing me for not believing in you unless I have a problem, aren't you? Excuse me for being an atheist!_

"Yes, Sasuke! We shall begin!" Gai dropped Naruto back into his seat, the blond gasping.

"Sweet Jesus, air!" he exclaimed as he pulled in a lungful of oxygen.

"I am glad you've become more interested in rocks, Sasuke!" Gai exclaimed grinning as he pulled a few rocks out of nearby cabinets. "Tell me, what is _this rock_?!"

"Metamorphic." Sasuke replied easily.

"Brilliant!" Gai began to prance around the room, the metamorphic rock in hand. "Notice its distorted shape, class! The different chemicals it possesses and positions it's been in during the last billion years gives it a majestic beauty that even I, the great Gai Maito, cannot recreate!"

Sasuke ripped a piece of paper from his book, writing a message on it before handing it to Naruto.

'_Would you say I won the craziest prof contest?' _

Naruto scribbled on the sheet before handing it back to Sasuke.

'_I am __**NEVER**__ coming back to this class __**EVER AGAIN**__!'_

Sasuke burst out laughing.

* * *

(1) It's an old Cheese factory in the Engineer's part of campus... just FYI. And the Engineering clubhouse.

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	11. Poor, Poor Sasuke II

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: I woke up this morning... and the tunnel Kiba was digging from K. Masashi's house to mine was filled up with cement... He was caught... again... DAMN!**

* * *

_Why do I feel like this is a __**bad**__ idea?_ Sasuke mused as he followed Naruto off the bus._ I mean, it shouldn't __**seem**__ like a bad idea, but it really, really __**feels**__ like one._

"You okay there, Sasuke-bastard?" Kiba asked as they waited for the crosswalk to change.

"Fine, Dog-face." the raven muttered.

"Ouch, Dog-face? How did I get _that_ name?"

"You have pictures of dogs in your room?" Naruto offered.

"Ah, right. Not my fault I grew up with eight dogs. Comes with living on a farm in Ontario."

The light changed and the six boys walked across the street, heading for a building with the heading 'Konoha Karate'. Sasuke crinkled his nose in distaste as he regarded it. His inner self was waving a red banner with the word 'Warning!' but he ignored it. He was beginning to hate his inner self. And to think, he'd never actually noticed he had one until he met Naruto.

"Well, here we are, Sasuke!" Naruto threw his arm around Sasuke's shoulders in a friendly gesture, motioning up at the sign. "Konoha Karate. You'll like Iruka. He's cool."

The boys all pushed through the doors and headed inside, taking their shoes off at the door.

"Hey, Iruka!" Naruto called out.

Sasuke watched as a pony-tailed man wearing a standard white karate outfit with a black belt spun around to look at the group who'd just walked in.

"Hey, Naruto. How are you all doing today?" He walked towards them, motioning for the brown-belted people to continue their sparring.

"We're good. We brought you a new member." Naruto hit Sasuke on the back, and he hissed.

"New member, huh? Welcome to Konoha Karate. I'm Iruka Umino."

"Sasuke Uchiha." the raven replied evenly.

The two of them discussed prices and getting Sasuke an outfit while the other boys went to the back to change into their own. Twenty minutes later, they were able to start.

Sasuke was surprisingly agile and incredibly good, even though he'd never practised any form of martial arts before. He suspected it was because Kakashi used to do Judo and liked to push Sasuke around when he was being a pain, so he'd learned how to do certain things to fend the silver-haired man off.

"All right, that's enough of this." Iruka turned back to the six boys. "We're going to do a little sparring now. Sasuke seems like he'll be able to keep up, so go ahead and pick your partners."

_Sparring?_ Sasuke's inner self—which had been dormant while they'd been working through the routines—came back full force with the huge warning banner. He still didn't understand why.

"Come on, Sasuke!" Naruto grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a corner of the room, standing in front of him and bowing. Sasuke did the same before they started fighting. They were evenly matched, although they'd known this due to their previous fight. This time was harder, though, because they didn't actually want to hurt each other.

Naruto finally managed to kick Sasuke's feet out from under him, causing the raven to land hard on the ground. He then jumped onto Sasuke's stomach, straddling him as he laughed at the confused look on his roommate's face.

"Is that the best you can do, bastard?"

_Oh God,_ was all Sasuke could think as his lower region began to stir. _Oh shit! Fuck!_

"Naruto!" Shino and Shikamaru hauled the blond off Sasuke, Kiba standing between Naruto and the raven to block his view of Sasuke's obvious erection.

"What?" Naruto was confused, wondering why Shino and Shikamaru had pulled him away.

_Shit, do they __**all**__ know?!_ Sasuke felt his cheeks turning pink as he sat up, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. This way, he blocked anything the blond might see if Kiba moved.

"I think we should change partners, what do you say? Naruto and I will switch."

"Agreed." Shino nodded to Kiba, he and Shikamaru dragging the blond back across the room where Chouji was standing.

Kiba turned to Sasuke with a feral grin, the raven glaring up at him. "You gonna need a minute with that, or does the ice in the daggers you're sending at me flow through your whole body?"

"How did you find out?" Sasuke hissed at him. The brunette shrugged, stretching.

"Shino and Shikamaru were talking about it one day. They both noticed pretty much right away. I overheard them. I'm totally fine with you being gay, but I don't think I like you hitting on Naruto."

"He's oblivious to it, anyway." the raven muttered, looking away from Kiba.

"Maybe so, but he's Naruto _Uzumaki_. He's had a tough life, and the guys and I have agreed that if you hurt him, we'll kick your ass." He glared down at the Uchiha. Sasuke nodded.

"Understood. I don't want to hurt him, so I don't think you have to worry."

"I don't trust you, Uchiha." Kiba growled.

"I don't care." He swiped Kiba's legs out from under him, sending the brunette flat on his ass.

* * *

Sasuke absentmindedly bit into his chocolate bar as his eyes continued to scan the page in front of him. He was reading one of Kakashi's novels—he had one hidden under his mattress. He was getting to one of the really good parts, and he was glad Naruto wasn't in the room.

His phone rang, pulling him from his reading, and he got up to pick it up from his shelf. He opened it and put it to his ear.

"Hello, Sasuke, how are you?"

"Hn." the raven replied as he jumped up onto his bed and leaned back against the wall. "I went to a karate class today, so I know how to kick your ass, Hatake."

"I'll believe _that_ when I see it, Uchiha." His guardian smirked.

"The instructor was pretty good looking." Sasuke flicked some lint off his comforter. "Not my type, but he seems like the kind you would like. You should probably go check him out."

"And how do you propose I do this without looking like a psychotic stalker?" Kakashi inquired, an eyebrow cocked. Sasuke was trying to help him find a boyfriend? The last time Kakashi checked, he _was_ on planet Earth, right?

"You can take lessons yourself, or you can just go and say you're checking the place out for me cause you're worried or something." He shrugged as he lay down, one hand behind his head. "Either way, I think you should check him out."

"Um, okay." The silver-haired man said uncertainly. There was a long silence after that, and Kakashi frowned. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh, I'm done."

"Oh. Right." Sasuke cleared his throat. "Uh, bye." He hung up.

Kakashi couldn't help it. He did the stupid stare-at-the-phone-in-shock thing. That was the first phone conversation he'd ever had with Sasuke where it hadn't ended with, "are you done?" It was—strange.

As for Sasuke, he couldn't believe he'd changed so much in such a short time. Naruto couldn't have had _that_ much of an effect on him! After all, it had only been about a month since they'd become friends!

Sasuke wasn't looking forward to Christmas. Two weeks without Naruto—could he even _survive_ that long without the blond? He'd become so used to having him around that things would seem so different and out-of-place without him.

Unconsciously, Sasuke had rolled onto his stomach, and he stared at the blond's bed. Naruto was in Kiba's room, so Sasuke didn't have the ability to stare at his gorgeous roommate.

He wondered how it was that _everyone_ except Naruto had noticed his attraction to the blond. He was a little peeved, because he used to be so good at hiding his emotions—not that he was bad now, just not as good as he used to be.

_What would Naruto say if he found out I was gay?_ Sasuke mused, thinking about what Shino had said at the party. It was true, Naruto may not have minded, but it would be awkward for him to know his roommate was gay. Sasuke didn't want to put a wedge between the two of them because of his sexual preferences. He was going to try and see if Naruto would ever be anything more than a friend, and if not, he supposed he could live with him being a friend. He just didn't want to lose the blond altogether.

Sasuke slammed his head continuously into his pillow, wanting to stop thinking about the blond. Every time he thought of Naruto when he wasn't around, he pictured the blond either in a towel, or completely naked. It was enough to drive him crazy. Knowing all of that was within reach and yet, so very, _very_ far away.

Without even thinking about his, the raven began to grind his pelvis into his bed, moaning Naruto's name.

Sasuke hissed at the sensation of his rough boxers against his erection, almost tempted to dip his hand into his pants and relieve himself that way. It would only serve to dirty his hand, though, so he figured this would work, too. It would take longer, but he was in no rush.

The raven grabbed the edges of his bed, pushing his pelvis hard against the mattress and letting out a long groan at the sensations it sent shooting up his spine. He was so hard it was almost painful to thrust into the mattress.

"Oh God." Sasuke buried his face in his pillow as he continued to fuck the mattress. "Oh, God, Naruto!" he moaned as he came closer and closer to completion. "Fuck me, _Naruto_!"

* * *

Down the hall, completely oblivious to his roommate's thoughts, Naruto was playing a card game with Kiba and Shino. He was losing, too, so he wasn't in a very good mood.

"What do you guys think of that girl in our English class?" Kiba inquired. "Hinata."

"The short-haired one who blushes if you look at her?" Naruto frowned at his cards.

"Yeah. I think she's pretty cute."

"You should start sitting with her more often." Shino commented as he played a card. "If you get to know her better, maybe something will develop between the two of you."

"Yeah." Kiba sighed. "Then again, I'm not exactly a—"

"_**Naruto!"**_

Naruto jumped a mile high.

"That sounded like Sasuke." Shino stated calmly.

"Shit!" Naruto threw his cards down and slammed out of the room, running down the corridor. He threw open his door and ran into his room.

"Shit, what?! What's wrong?! Are you okay?!" Sasuke spun around on his bed, staring at his roommate wide-eyed. "You were hollering my name, is something wrong?"

"I-I..." _OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod... _"I was having suicidal thoughts!" Sasuke blurted out.

There was silence for a long while before Naruto closed the door, shaking his head.

"Sasuke." He sighed and went to his desk, pulling his chair up beside Sasuke's bed. "Okay, what's wrong? Talk me through it, and I'll help you out."

Sasuke couldn't believe it. Naruto _bought_ that? _He's even more innocent than I thought!_

"Sasuke?" He focused back on the blond. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke's mind drew a blank. Naruto didn't know the full reason he'd been suicidal—but was now _really_ the best time to tell him? _No,_ his mind decided. _He'll want to give me a hug and there is __**no way**__ I'm getting off my stomach. Not with the mess on my sheets._

"I-I don't know why. I was just—I guess I felt like I don't spend enough, uh..." He trailed off, looking away and blushing.

"You think..." Naruto prompted.

"I don't spend enough time with you." Sasuke mumbled out hurriedly.

"What?" Naruto demanded. "Sasuke, we spend _tons_ of time together! I don't think I spend more time with anyone else!"

"I don't just mean in the room, I mean—we don't hang out."

"That's why I brought you to the karate thing. I like spending time with you." Sasuke blinked.

"You do?"

"'Course! I figured if the two of us did karate together, we'd be hanging out more. And you're welcome to come and hang out in Kiba's room, you know." Naruto insisted.

"Kiba calls me Sasuke-bastard." Sasuke grumbled.

"So do I." The blond grinned wickedly. He then stood up, causing Sasuke to frown. "Come on, come play cards with us."

Sasuke's face went whiter than his dirty sheets.

"Uh, no. That's okay. I was heading to Kakashi's."

"No, come on. We're playing cards." Naruto grabbed his wrist and tugged. Sasuke panicked, tugging his wrist back.

"No, really. I'm okay."

"Come on, you were just complaining about it, and if you think I'm going to leave you alone in the room after what you just told me, you are _sorely_ mistaken!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing his arm again and tugging harder.

Sasuke's inner self was laughing at the irony of it all. Sasuke himself felt ready to cry.

And then, the raven truly believed there _was_ a God. He sent him angels.

There was a knock at the door.

"Naruto, it's your turn, and Kiba is getting impatient." Shino called through the door.

"I am not!" Kiba exclaimed. "I just want to make sure Sasuke-bastard isn't killing Naruto."

The door handle jiggled, but since it was locked, the door stayed shut. Naruto padded towards it to open it, giving Shino and Kiba access to the room.

"Come on, Naruto, let's get you away from the bastard." Kiba threw his arm around Naruto's shoulders and began to drag him off, despite the blond's sputtered complaints about helping Sasuke.

Shino entered the room and closed the door, locking it. "That wasn't very smart, Uchiha."

"Piss off," the raven growled as he rolled onto his back, wrapping his sheets around his waist and jumping off the bed.

"Shall I leave?" Shino inquired.

"I would prefer that, but then Naruto will freak out and come back." Shino cocked an eyebrow. "I had to think fast, so I told him I was thinking of committing suicide."

"Ah," Shino said, enlightened. "Then I shall busy myself at Naruto's computer." He padded across the room and sat down at Naruto's desk, surfing the web.

Sasuke changed quickly before throwing his sheets and clothes into his hamper, remaking his bed with a new set he'd stolen from Kakashi. Once it was made and he was cleanly dressed again, he appeared beside Shino, his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks. You know, for coming to my rescue."

Shino nodded as he stood up, clicking out of the window he'd opened. "I advise you to be quieter next time you decide to do something like that. Or at least make sure he can't hear you."

Sasuke just glared at him as Shino left the room, hearing Naruto scream down the corridor not to leave Sasuke alone.

"He's fine, he's leaving." Shino replied.

And Sasuke _was_ leaving. He had to go see Kakashi. Grabbing his keys and phone, he left his room and headed for the exit.

* * *

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he opened his door, Sasuke walking right past him and entering his apartment.

"Wow, Sasuke, at the beginning of the year, you _complained_ that I was so close. I wonder what would've happened if I wasn't."

"Shut up, Kakashi, I need help." Sasuke sat down on the couch, frowning at the floor. "You're gay, right? You should be able to help me."

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow as he surveyed the boy in front of him. Something told him Sasuke was being emotional again, and emotional Sasuke was something Kakashi could _not_ handle. He wasn't used to it. He preferred the stoic, angry Sasuke to this one.

"If you like a guy, but you don't know his preferences—would you asking him if he was gay make him suspect you were?"

"I don't think so, but if you asked and he wasn't, he'd probably be somewhat insulted." Kakashi answered as he moved to his bedroom and opened the door, looking in. Sasuke stood up from the couch and followed him as Kakashi entered his room further, opening his closet.

"Well, how would you try to determine whether he was gay or not without actually _asking_ him, then? I mean, I told him your books were gay books, and he paled, but that could've meant that I was accusing him of being gay and he was scared, or he was straight and that stuff didn't appeal to him."

"I guess." Kakashi replied as he opened his bathroom door and checked behind the shower curtain before looking through the cabinets beneath the sink.

"That's not very helpful." Sasuke muttered as he moved out of Kakashi's way as he exited the bathroom, the two of them heading for the kitchen. "What if I told him _I_ was gay? Do you think he'd tell me if he was, or would it make it awkward if he wasn't?"

"Perhaps." Kakashi replied as he looked through all the cupboards in the kitchen. Sasuke was getting really irritated with his lack of response.

It wasn't until they reached the spare room that Sasuke sighed and couldn't help it. He had to ask.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

Kakashi opened the closet and stared into it. "I'm looking for Raidou."

Sasuke blinked for a few seconds as Kakashi passed him, heading for the other bathroom and looking behind the curtain. Sasuke followed him, his hands in his pockets and his eyebrow cocked.

"Why would he be hiding in your shower?"

"I'm just hoping God was nice enough to have him conveniently appear." Kakashi said with a sigh.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not Raidou!" Kakashi exclaimed. Sasuke's raised eyebrow rose higher.

"Uh, yes, I'm well aware of that."

"I can't help you." he said with a sigh. "I'm used to moody, broody, angry, I-hate-my-life-and-the-world Sasuke. Not—" He motioned Sasuke wordlessly. "This!"

"Should I go call Raidou, then?" Sasuke inquired.

"That would make me feel less useless." Sasuke shrugged and left the room to call his Biology professor.

* * *

"He must shower him with loving energy and spirituous youth!" Gai hollered, slamming his fist on the table.

"_No_, he should knock him out, tie him down, and screw him senseless." Genma insisted, leaning his chair back on its two hind legs, his hands behind his head.

"I still think the talking approach is the best idea." Raidou insisted.

"I don't know, Genma's way seems fairly effective." Asuma said with a shrug.

"I have to agree with Raidou." Kakashi interjected.

"I think _I_ should go over and see if this character is gay or not." Anko mused, slightly tipsy from having arrived from the bar.

"I think Sasuke should just figure it out himself." Ibiki grumbled.

Sasuke hated his life.

He had called Raidou, just like Kakashi had suggested, but he'd started talking about his problem on the phone. Stupid Genma had been listening in and had said they'd be right over. Of course, because this was _Genma_, he'd called Gai, Asuma, Ibiki and Anko. Anko had been getting drunk at the bar, but the second Genma had mentioned 'Sasuke' and 'in love,' she was sold. She'd never appeared anywhere faster.

"Seriously." Anko threw her arm around Sasuke's shoulder and leaned in close. He leaned away, the stench of alcohol on her breath hurting his nose. "Give me _five_ minutes with him, and you'll have your answer."

"Uh, you're his Physics professor." Kakashi informed her. "That would be a _bad_ idea."

"Well, damn!" She pushed away from Sasuke and began to pout.

"You can give _me_ five minutes with him." Genma grinned. "If he isn't gay, he _will_ be."

"He's your student, too." Kakashi reminded him.

"But I have no morals!" Genma exclaimed.

"I think you should take it back before Sasuke melts you with his eyes." Raidou whispered to his lover.

Genma turned to Sasuke, confused, and paled. The raven was glaring daggers covered in acid and fire at Genma. The longhaired professor shrank back, laughing nervously.

"Or, I could leave that to you." There was silence.

Asuma cleared his throat. "Back to the problem."

"Yes! The problem!" Genma exclaimed, trying to get back on track and have Sasuke stop looking at him like he wanted to dump him in a vat of gasoline, and then send him to the fiery pits of hell.

"Sasuke." The Uchiha turned to Raidou. "There's no easy way around this. He hasn't admitted anything, but you admitting something might not be the best idea. You said your other friends knew, and they're also friends with him. They seem okay with it, and this is a good sign, however," he pointed a finger at Sasuke, "they know you're not attracted to them. Now Naruto _may_ be oblivious to your advances now, but that doesn't mean he won't be if you admitted you were gay. If you told him you were gay, he would probably notice little things that you did that you didn't with others. He would either admit to being gay, be confused as to how he feels, or freak out."

"If he freaks out, I suggest you try my method." Genma interjected. "The knocking him out and screwing him senseless. Trust me, that'll make him turn if you're good enough at it."

"Genma, for the last time, nobody would _ever_ knock someone out and screw them senseless." Ibiki sighed annoyed.

Raidou went red before excusing himself, rushing to the bathroom. Everyone stared after him as he left before slowly turning to Genma. Genma just smiled sheepishly.

"Fuck, Genma, I'm glad you never set your sights on _me_." Asuma admitted, putting out his cigarette and pulling another out.

"Well, he was just so _cute_!" Genma insisted, pouting as he crossed his arms.

"So..." They all turned to Sasuke as he spoke. "It worked?"

"You're not doing that!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"That would be horrendous, Sasuke!" Gai exclaimed. "In the height of his youth, a young man must be allowed to decide for himself whether or not he loves the blossoming bosoms of women, or the strong, hard—"

"_Thank you_, Gai." Asuma cut in. "Not everyone at the table is gay."

"Ah, Asuma, one must always have an open mind!" Gai insisted. "I do not like men, but I would be willing to try it if it meant being happier and more spirituous!"

Genma turned to Kakashi with a smirk, and the man propelled himself out of his seat, horrified.

"No! I'm not _that_ desperate!"

"Calm down, Hatake, I was teasing." Genma patted the empty seat beside him. "And you know you're more than welcome to share Raidou with me."

"What am I, a toy?!" They heard Raidou yell from down the corridor.

"You are to me, love." The toothpick-chewing professor smirked.

Sasuke stood up abruptly, his hands in his pockets.

"Now that I've been thoroughly embarrassed and this conversation has proved to be useless, I'm leaving. Have a good night." Without waiting for a reply, he hurriedly left the house.

He thought about Genma and Raidou's words all the way home. What Raidou had said made sense, but Genma's method was just so _tempting_! Especially when Naruto had just come out of the shower, his sun-kissed skin dripping wet and his hair—

Sasuke shook his head, trying to clear the image from his mind. It wouldn't do for him to return to his room with a hard-on. He was already going to have to explain where he'd been for four hours—_four __**wasted**__ hours_, the raven though annoyed—and he didn't want to add another embarrassing explanation to the list.

Then again, he could lie and tell the blond that he'd been talking to Kakashi about wanting to commit suicide again. It could work.

Sasuke entered the building and slowly climbed the stairs. When he reached his floor, Kiba's door was closed, and he couldn't hear anything coming from the boy's room. Naruto must have returned to their room.

Sasuke quietly opened the door, unsure as to whether Naruto was asleep or not. The light on and being glomped the second he was through the door answered the question for him.

"Where were you, Sasuke-bastard?!" Naruto pulled away and hit him. Hard. "Fuck, I was _worried_!" Sasuke blinked.

"You were?"

"Yes, dammit! I was! You tell me you want to commit suicide and then disappear for four hours?!" He shoved the raven. "Fuck!" He turned to grab his toothbrush. "I couldn't _sleep_ I was so fucking worried! Next time, let me go with you!" He pushed past the raven.

Sasuke stood in the open doorway, stunned. _What—just happened?_

_I think you pissed him off,_ his inner self replied.

_Oh, great, are __**you**__ back again?_

_I never leave! Now shut up and listen to me!_

_Yeah, yeah. What was it that I did to piss him off?_

_You ran off after saying you were going to commit suicide. Don't you remember what happened the __**last**__ time?_ his inner self demanded. Sasuke pondered this for a bit.

_He was really worried about me, and he donated his blood to keep me alive._

_That's right. Do you __**really**__ think he wants to turn it into a hobby?_

Sasuke's reply to his inner self was cut off by the blond storming past him and throwing his toothbrush onto his shelf before climbing into bed.

"Naruto?"

"What?" Sasuke winced.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"I wasn't scared!" Naruto snapped, covering his head with his blankets.

Sasuke wasn't going to let the night end like that. He padded towards the blond and pulled the covers off his head. Naruto didn't react; he just pretended to be asleep.

"Why were you worried about me?" Sasuke asked.

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because I was, okay! Just let it go!"

"No, I won't let it go." Sasuke insisted. He leaned down, resting his chin on his folded hands on the bed. "I want to know."

"Because you're my best friend, okay!" Naruto blurted out before turning his back to the raven.

Sasuke was stunned. Naruto had just called him his best friend! Sasuke—he'd never had a best friend before. Were they—were they _really_ best friends?

Putting his attraction to Naruto aside, Sasuke decided that, yes, Naruto was his best friend.

"You're—my best friend, too." Sasuke whispered, a light blush colouring his cheeks.

Naruto turned back to Sasuke, sitting up, "Really?"

"Yeah." Sasuke muttered.

"Oh."

Silence.

"I just didn't want you to hurt yourself again." Naruto finally whispered. "I just—you were so close to dying that one time, and I..." Naruto trailed off and Sasuke winced. He felt _especially_ bad since he _hadn't_ been thinking suicidal thoughts.

"Sorry, Naruto."

"It's okay." He punched Sasuke in the chest. "Just don't do it again."

"Deal."

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	12. A Little About Uchiha and Uzumaki

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Hayate is dead. He is not coming back. However, Kiba is not. So if K. Masashi would think of sending him to me, it would be greatly appreciated :)  
PS: If you can find Hayate's remains, please send them to my muse so she will shut up about him. LOVE YA!**

* * *

Sasuke pushed through the front door of Robson, heading back to his room. It was five o'clock, and he expected Naruto was back from Physics by now. He needed Naruto, now more than ever. This time, he really _had_ been having suicidal thoughts because someone had come into his Sociology and Sports class to make an announcement, and had introduced himself as Itachi. He didn't look a thing like Sasuke's older brother, but that wasn't the point. He'd said the name Itachi.

Sasuke pushed open his door, relieved to find it unlocked, and stopped dead in his tracks. Naruto was shoving shirts into a backpack and grabbing his various daily needs from around the room.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Naruto turned to Sasuke as he continued to pack.

"I'm going home for the weekend." he whispered. "I have to start sorting through my grandmother's things." His hands froze above his bag, seemingly lost in thought. "I couldn't do it before, but I have to now."

Sasuke started to hyperventilate. Naruto was leaving him. For a whole weekend. No, this couldn't happen! Not now!

_Think of __**him**__, too, bastard! _his inner self scolded, snapping him out of his self-pity.

That was when the look on Naruto's face struck something in him. He knew that face. Naruto was going to go to an empty house and look through all of his loved one's things to decide what to do with them. No one should go through that alone.

"Do—you want me to come with you?" Sasuke whispered.

Naruto turned to him and smiled brightly, but Sasuke could tell it didn't reach his eyes. "You don't have to, Sasuke. I know you're busy and I wouldn't want to bother you."

"I'm offering." he insisted. "I-I know what it's like—to lose everyone you love."

The two stared at each other for a while before Naruto smiled genuinely. "Sure. You can come if you want."

Without a word, Sasuke headed for his closet and pulled out a bag, packing everything he would need. This was all done in silence and once they were done, they turned off the lights and left the room, locking the door behind them.

"So, where do you live to be able to go home?" Sasuke asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Where Keita lives. Remember, Mission? It's two hours from here. Well—forty-five minutes, the way I drive." He grinned at his roommate.

"Should I be scared for my life?"

"I'm still alive." They walked towards the parking lot.

Sasuke's phone chose that instant to ring and he fished it out of his pocket. "Yes?"

"Just calling to check up. Genma wants you over for dinner tonight so we can discuss your problem some more." Kakashi's voice rang down the line.

"I can't, I'm going to Naruto's with him for the weekend."

"You tied him down and screwed him senseless, didn't you?!" Sasuke jerked the phone away from his ear as Genma's voice shrieked down the line. He was on speaker. Fuck.

Naruto turned to him, confused, having heard some of that conversation. "Screw who senseless?"

"No one." Sasuke hung up the phone and then turned it off. The next time he saw Genma, he was going to fucking _strangle_ him!

They walked into the parking lot and headed towards the back where a bunch of beat up cars were. He whistled as he noticed a sleek, black Viper sitting all by itself in the corner. _Nice car, _Sasuke thought, admiring it. _Whoever owns that must be a lucky guy. Then again, probably compensating for something._

Sasuke jumped as the lights suddenly flashed and a beep sounded. He turned to Naruto and saw him holding out a set of keys, having just hit the auto-lock.

"Yo—_you_ own this car?!" Sasuke blurted out amazed.

"You'll understand everything once we get to my place." the blond muttered as he opened the trunk and threw his bag in, holding out his hand for Sasuke's.

Sasuke handed it to him, and as he did, he couldn't help but note that, _no_, this particular driver was _not_ compensating.

Naruto got into the car before Sasuke, the raven too transfixed to move. Naruto poking his head out the window and telling him to hurry up got him into the car, and they were out of the parking lot seconds later.

The drive to Naruto's was filled with music, since Naruto didn't seem keen on talking right then. Sasuke was fine with this, as long as they got to talk later. He also found it quite nerve-wracking, though, because the chaotic music plus Naruto's insane driving had him gripping the dashboard so hard he had to pry his fingers off it when they reached calmer roads. Naruto was only insane on the highway, but when they hit Mission, he'd slowed down and started driving at a speed only slightly slower than the speed of sound.

Sasuke stared out the window, inspecting the houses as they passed them. Was it just his imagination, or were they getting bigger?

"We're almost there." Naruto informed at the end of a particularly chaotic song.

He flipped off the stereo, obviously done with listening to music. That, or he wanted to hear Sasuke's reaction when they reached his house.

Sasuke's eyes bugged out of his head.

"_That's_ your _house_?!" he demanded, pointing before him.

Naruto said nothing as he drove along the cobbled path to the front door, turning at the small roundabout before stopping. He opened his door and climbed out, Sasuke still staring speechless at the house before him. It was absolutely _gorgeous_.

_And huge,_ his inner self interjected.

The house was built of wood painted an elegant colour of beige, which matched the light brown tiles perfectly. The front had a large cobblestone expanse from the door to a small garden path on the side. It had three large pillars that stretched from the floor to the roof, separated down the middle due to a balcony on the second floor. All of the windows were one-way, not even allowing Sasuke to glimpse inside.

"Hey." Sasuke's head snapped towards Naruto, who'd poked his head back in on his side of the car. "You coming out, or what?"

Sasuke scrambled to comply, exiting the car and grabbing his bag from Naruto as the blond walked past him.

"Uh, the car..." Sasuke trailed off, motioning it as they walked away with it still in the middle of the roundabout.

"Nobody else is coming by, no need to worry." Naruto replied without turning around. He held the keys over his head and hit the auto-lock, the car beeping.

Sasuke was amazed. Naruto owned an awesome car, he lived in a _huge _house—something clicked in Sasuke's mind.

"The bus." he blurted out. Naruto's hand froze, the key held tightly in it since he was about to unlock the door. "The bus of naked people. You paid them, didn't you? Cheques?" The blond said nothing as his hand moved and he unlocked the door. As he reached to push it open, Sasuke grabbed his wrist.

"Why? It was a scavenger hunt. Why did you pay people? Was it that important to you?" he asked. Naruto turned to him and Sasuke couldn't help but let him go. He knew those eyes. He looked at them every day in the mirror.

"Let it go, Sasuke." he muttered as he pushed open the door and walked into the house. Sasuke followed wordlessly, closing the door behind him.

The floor was white tile, and the walls around him were painted a shade of rose so light one would think it was white. The table in the entranceway was a deep, rich brown colour and Naruto dropped his keys on it easily, as if he did it all the time.

_He probably __**does**__ do it all the time!_ he reminded himself, annoyed.

The two of them walked through the house, the tile turning into a white, fluffy carpet as they crossed the living room, which contained a set of wooden-framed couches with beige pillows and four matching chairs.

Sasuke followed Naruto up the stairs, the carpet under his shoes making him uncomfortable because he felt like he was dirtying the place. They reached the top and Naruto headed down the long corridor before pushing open a door and walking in, Sasuke following.

Now _this_ was _definitely_ Naruto's room. The carpet was a deep shade of red, which contrasted with his orange bedspread. His walls were a navy blue colour, and even though Sasuke would've thought the room looked awkward, it actually didn't. It was purely Naruto. He even had a few fox posters on his walls and fox sheets.

"Wow."

"What?" Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Nothing, just—this room is almost the way I imagined it." Sasuke admitted. "It's so—you. With the orange and the red... and the foxes."

"Do I seem like a fox person?" Naruto inquired, confused.

Sasuke didn't know how to reply. In all honesty, it was the marks on Naruto's lean face that had first made him think of foxes, but knowing those scars came from him almost losing his life, Sasuke couldn't say that was the reason. Instead, he just shrugged.

"Come on, I'll make us some food." The blond dropped his bag on the floor and walked out of the room. Sasuke threw his own bag beside Naruto's and the two of them went downstairs to make dinner.

* * *

After a fantastic dinner, a movie and a card game, Naruto and Sasuke headed back to Naruto's room to change and get ready for bed.

"You can sleep in my room, if you want. Or you can take one of the spares."

"I've gotten too used to your sleep-talking." The raven stated with a smirk. "I'll feel lonely without it."

"I _don't_ sleep-talk." Naruto pouted, heading for his bathroom.

Sasuke shook his head. For crying out loud, the guy had his own _bathroom_! Sasuke had had to share with Kakashi, and even then the bathroom was connected to the older man's room. Naruto had a bathroom connected to his _own_ room.

The two of them brushed their teeth and then headed to bed, Naruto pulling out a blue comforter for Sasuke. His bed was a Queen, so they had no problems with sharing it. Both of them would have enough room.

"Night, Sasuke." Naruto turned his back on his roommate.

Sasuke stared at the back of Naruto's head, still sitting up. Naruto seemed tired, and probably wanted to go to bed, but Sasuke felt he owed the blond. He was willing to talk about Itachi now, and he owed it to Naruto to tell him why he was suicidal. Sure, he'd heard some of the story from Tsunade at the hospital, but he doubted the blond was really paying attention since he'd been so angry.

Looking down at his hands, Sasuke spoke. "Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"You asked me a few days ago why I was suicidal. Do you still want to know why?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, sitting up to stare into the raven's dark eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just—you saved me, so I feel like I owe you the full story." With a deep breath, Sasuke began. "When I was nine, I had no problems in my life. I was happy, I was top of my class in school, and I had what I thought was the best family. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure why he did it..."

_

* * *

_

_Sasuke Uchiha threw open his front door, kicking off his shoes. _

"_I'm home!" he called to his mother and older brother, knowing they were home since they always got home before he did. _

_He bounced joyously towards the kitchen, where his mother could always be found to make him an after-school snack. _

_He pushed open the door, but she wasn't there. This confused him. Where could she possibly be? She usually always had something ready for him, and for her not to be there meant something was wrong._

_He didn't know what he should do; this routine was different from his usual one. He walked out of the kitchen._

"_Mom?" he called through the house._

_Only silence replied. _

_Sasuke felt a chill race down his spine, and he couldn't seem to get his heart out of his throat. He walked towards the stairs, climbing them slowly. He reached the landing, but he heard nothing. It was almost as if no one were home. If this were true, the door would've been locked. Also, Sasuke had never been left home alone. He was too young; they always left someone there to greet him. _

_As he walked towards his parent's room, he froze. He could smell something. It was—metallic. Very strong, and a little unpleasant. He couldn't place the smell, but he was sure he'd smelt it before. _

"_Mom? Itachi?" He reached his parent's room and opened the door slowly. _

_The sight that greeted him was burned into his mind for the rest of his life. He would never be able to close his eyes without seeing the image before him._

_His mother was lying on the bed, her throat slit, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a silent scream. Blood drenched her elegant white blouse, the bedspread beneath her soaked in red. _

_Sasuke's father was at the foot of his bed, his head tilted at an impossible angle and a large wound in the centre of his chest. His eyes were locked on his younger son's, even though the soul within had long since departed. _

_Shaking, Sasuke backed up, unable to tear his eyes away from the gruesome scene no matter how desperately he wanted to. He bumped into someone and froze, wondering if it was the killer. Slowly, he looked up and met a pair of matching dark brown eyes._

"_Brother!" He spun around and hugged his older brother tightly, clutching to him for all he was worth. "Brother, someone killed mom and dad!" _

_The nine year old began to hyperventilate, and he almost missed the scent of blood radiating off his brother. It took him a few seconds, but he finally caught it. Slowly pulling away, he stared at the black shirt before his eyes, seeing a large wet patch right at eye-level. He reached out with one small hand, touching the wet patch before pulling it away and looking at it. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the blood on his hand._

_He looked up at Itachi, the older boy's face betraying no emotion whatsoever. Sasuke's eyes travelled to Itachi's side where one of their father's antique katanas was held. It was covered in a layer of blood. _

"_Brother?" he asked, his voice shaking. The blade rose and Sasuke scrambled away from his brother, turning and running back into his parent's room, closing and locking the door._

_He breathed hard and covered his ears as he heard a bang. Itachi was trying to get in. _

Why?_ The child thought wildly, his vision swimming. _Why did he do this? Why is this happening? Let this be a dream, please let this be a dream! I don't understand!

_A new sound appeared. Someone was knocking on the front door._

"_Police! The neighbours called about a disturbance." _

_Itachi suddenly stopped trying to get into the room Sasuke was in. Seconds later, Sasuke heard breaking glass and gunshots. He covered his ears as he sank to the ground in the corner. He had blood all down his front due to hugging his blood-covered brother, and his socks had left footprints of blood on the floor from when he'd stepped into his father's blood while backing towards the wall. _

_The pounding on the bedroom door commenced again and Sasuke began hyperventilating more. He risked passing out._

_The door gave and his eyes snapped up. He saw policemen running into the room, two of them running to his parents while a last one ran to him._

"_Are you okay? Kid, are you okay? What happened?" Sasuke's eyesight began to grow dim and he passed out._

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke sat in silence as Sasuke's story came to a close. Without warning, Naruto grabbed Sasuke and pulled him into a hug, clutching the raven tightly to himself.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I'm so, _so_ sorry."

"You understand what I went through." Sasuke whispered back. "You're the same as me."

"No, I'm not." Naruto pulled away, but kept his hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "I was two years old. I don't remember what happened. I just have scars and stories to prove it happened. I won't have to see the image of my parents dead for the rest of my life. Compared to you, I got off lucky."

"Don't ever say that." Sasuke insisted. "We _both_ got the short end of the stick, but you know what? Meeting you makes it all seem a little better." He smiled slightly at the blond. "I've never had a friend since that day. I forgot how to live. I just closed off and became this suicidal prick. You brought me back from that, and there aren't any words that can describe how grateful I am."

Naruto smiled before pulling Sasuke into another hug. "Thanks, Sasuke."

"No. Thank _you_."

* * *

"I think you're wrong." Naruto insisted.

"Well _I_ think you're full of shit." Sasuke shot back with a smirk as he loaded his bag in the trunk.

"That's the last time I invite you over for the weekend." Naruto stuck his tongue out at the raven before getting in the car.

"You'd miss me too much." Sasuke teased as he followed suit, slamming the door.

Naruto drove around the roundabout and headed back down the path to leave. They made their way quickly through the streets in Mission before finally hitting the highway.

"Thanks for coming with me, Sasuke." Naruto whispered as they drove along.

"Thanks for letting me."

The car was filled with silence after that, neither able to think of anything to say.

"Sasuke, tell me a story."

"Huh?" Sasuke stared at his roommate. "Tell you a story?"

"Yeah. Something about you. Something embarrassing, preferably." He smirked at his roommate before looking back at the road. "I'll tell you something embarrassing about me."

"Uh, okay." Sasuke said uncertainly. He couldn't really think of anything embarrassing, but he did remember something that had seemed special to him once. He figured sharing it with Naruto was okay. "When I was about six or seven, before I turned into a suicidal bastard, we had a show and tell at my school. Everyone else had the usual things. Their dog, their cat, their hamster. Boring stuff, you know?" Sasuke looked out his window, watching the cars pass on the other side of the highway. "I'd been on a plane for the first time in my life a few days before. I'd been so excited about it so when it was my turn, I walked to the front of the class with an empty jar. The teacher asked what it was, and I told her that I'd gone on a plane recently. I said that while we were in the air, I'd opened the plane door and scooped some clouds into the jar. Of course, I hadn't really opened the plane door; it was more of an imagination thing. I knew this, but I thought my teacher would just understand it as being something special to me. She was a bitch and told me it was impossible to open a plane door in the air, and made fun of me before sending me back to my seat. I hated her, but to this day, I still remember that as being my most precious memory."

"A cute and non-bastard Sasuke." Naruto mused, frowning at the road. "I can't picture it."

Sasuke punched Naruto in the arm, smirking.

"Your turn."

"I lied." The blond turned to Sasuke with a smirk.

"Fuck you, tell me something!" Sasuke punched him again.

"All right, all right, don't abuse the driver!" Naruto thought for a moment, but he couldn't think of anything. Sasuke wanted something embarrassing, but Naruto had always just been hated and tortured. He'd never really been embarrassed.

"I've never kissed anyone before." the blond muttered.

"What?"

"I've never kissed anyone before. I've never even really had friends before I met Kiba and you and the other guys. I had a lot of adults who were cool with me, but it's different, 'cause I can't just hang out with them, you know?"

"Well, don't worry about it. It'll happen eventually." Sasuke said with a shrug.

"But what if the girl notices I can't kiss? She'll laugh at me." Naruto's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

Sasuke turned to survey the blond. Had he said girl to make Sasuke not suspect him? Or was he really straight? Sasuke honestly couldn't tell sometimes—though he suspected he saw a gay side to Naruto only because he really wanted there to be one.

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke insisted.

They sat in silence for a while, only really talking when Naruto pulled a gutsy move on the highway. They were nearing campus when Sasuke spoke next, having just passed _Konoha Karate_.

"I think Iruka would suit Kakashi." Naruto almost slammed on the brakes.

"Excuse me?!"

"You know Kakashi's gay, right?" Sasuke turned to the blond, who nodded. "I wasn't sure about Iruka, but Kakashi has a type. He hasn't gotten laid in forever, and I think Iruka would be his type. We should try and get them together."

"You're crazy." Naruto insisted as they neared the parking lot.

"No, seriously. We should go to Kakashi's for dinner one day and invite Iruka. They can meet, and if things go according to plan, Kakashi will have a good night."

"And if Iruka's _not _gay?" Naruto inquired as he parked his car, turning to Sasuke.

The raven shrugged. "Kakashi always gets what he wants. If Iruka isn't gay, he soon will be."

"That's a little scary." Naruto exited the car. Sasuke let out a small sigh, shaking his head.

"Would it be too much to ask for you to just randomly blurt out that you're gay?" he muttered to himself.

"What?" Naruto's voice echoed in the parking lot.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

The two of them headed back to their room, arguing the whole way about Iruka and Kakashi. Kiba had practically strangled Sasuke when he'd seen them, demanding to know where they'd been and why no one had been informed. He'd even almost asked if Sasuke had hit on Naruto when the blond was right there. The look from Sasuke answered the question for him and the brunette intelligently kept his mouth shut.

Sasuke had called Kakashi to arrange a dinner, convincing the silver-haired man _not_ to invite Genma or any of the others. Naruto was coming with him, and the last thing he needed was Genma spewing something out. It was bad enough Naruto was in Genma's Anatomy class and he risked being exposed, he didn't need to add in anything else.

Naruto had then been forced to call Iruka, who had happily agreed to have dinner with Sasuke's guardian. Naruto had insisted Kakashi was protective and wouldn't allow Sasuke to go to karate unless he talked to the instructor personally. Everything was set for Wednesday night, and now all they had to do was wait.

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	13. Fights and Itachi

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: I baked K. Masashi some cookies to persuade him to give me Kiba, but Kiba got to them first. :sweatdrop:  
BAD DOG! **

**A/N: Thank you to the leviathan for being my beta. It is appreciated :) **

* * *

"I hate labs." Naruto yawned as he wrote down his findings.

"I don't mind labs so much." Sasuke whispered to his roommate, his eyes on the professor. "I just hate the fact that usually, we have Kabuto for this lab, and today, we have freaking Orochimaru."

"He's left you alone since you started hanging out with me." the blond insisted as he mixed something in a test tube and held it up to the light to gauge the colour.

Sasuke sighed and went back to work, shifting slightly on the stool. He hated stools, they were uncomfortable. Besides, what was the point of a chair with no back? You couldn't slouch if you got exasperated.

The raven did his best to ignore Orochimaru as the creepy professor walked around the class, inspecting people's findings. _He won't do anything, you're in __**class**_ he reminded himself for the twentieth time. He still couldn't stop the shivers from running down his spine, though, as the man neared their table.

He ignored Orochimaru as the older man walked behind Naruto, looking over the blond's shoulder. _Don't look up, don't look anywhere. Stare at your paper, just look at your results,_ the raven kept repeating in his mind. He jumped almost a mile high as he felt Orochimaru's hand brush against the small of his back, lingering there far too long to have been an accident. Swallowing hard, the raven scooted his stool closer to Naruto, ensuring he didn't look up at his professor.

"What's up?" Naruto whispered as Orochimaru moved away.

"He ran his hand along the small of my back." Sasuke said, disgusted.

"I'm telling you, complain about it." Naruto hissed, his eyes on his professor's back.

"No, they'll move me to another class." Sasuke insisted.

"So what?" Sasuke didn't reply to this.

It felt too sappy to say he didn't want to be separated from Naruto. But—he'd never had a true friend before, and Naruto was this to him. He began to find he liked having a friend. It made him feel less likely to just give up on life. Besides, Naruto had said they were best friends, right? As pre-school as that sounded, Sasuke liked to think that he and the blond had a strong connection.

Time passed way too slowly for Sasuke's liking, and every time Orochimaru passed the two boys, Sasuke moved closer to Naruto. The blond didn't seem to mind, knowing he was the only thing standing between Orochimaru and Sasuke.

When eleven-thirty finally hit, Sasuke and Naruto packed up hurriedly and left. As they exited the building, Naruto said he needed to get something from the village, and had told Sasuke he'd meet up with him in half an hour for lunch. They both went their separate ways.

As he usually did when Naruto was gone, Sasuke began to think about his blond roommate. It was hard always being around him, having him act all friendly without even knowing how Sasuke felt. How much it was _killing_ him that Naruto didn't even know how he affected the Uchiha.

Sasuke sat at his desk, musing this over in his mind before pulling _Icha Icha Paradise_ out from under his mattress and reading it. He knew it was a bad idea since the blond would be back soon, but he needed to do something before his mind exploded.

The raven glanced at the clock on his desk an hour later, wondering why Naruto still wasn't back. He'd said he was going to the village to buy something, and he would've called if he'd gotten sidetracked or couldn't make it back.

"I'll give him ten more minutes, then I'll call him." Sasuke decided, reading his book again.

Just as ten minutes passed, he heard the door open and spun around. "It's about t—" His eyes widened as Naruto walked in, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked."

"What happened?!" Sasuke propelled himself out of his chair, grabbing the bag from Naruto's hand and helping the blond towards his chair.

"Nothing, I just had a little tumble. I missed a step and fell down the stairs." the blond insisted.

Sasuke didn't believe him, but he wouldn't push it. Naruto looked almost worse than he had the day the two of them had fought. His orange hoodie was ripped in numerous places, blood present at every one of the rips. His jeans were dirty and torn, also sporting speckles of blood. His hair was messy, twigs and dirt clinging to his golden locks in clumps, and Sasuke could see blood matted near his neck at the back. He had a black eye, a split lip, and various cuts on his hands and face.

"Can I shower before we go eat?" Naruto asked, taking off his shoes.

"Of course!" Sasuke blurted out. He didn't know what to do. Had Naruto _really_ fallen down a flight of stairs? He knew the blond was clumsy, but—he also felt that Naruto was lying to him.

Without a word, the blond stood up and gathered his things to go and shower. Sasuke couldn't help but just sit in his roommate's empty chair and think things over. Naruto had been injured, that part was obvious. By who, Sasuke could not be sure. Why—he had a suspicion. However, Naruto took karate now. Surely he would've defended himself if he was really being beaten up.

"Maybe I'm just looking into this too much." he whispered to himself. "If he passed the SUB, he could've fallen down those stairs, and it would explain the dirt and twigs in his hair." He sighed, rubbing his face. "He probably just had another clumsy moment."

He waited for Naruto to finish and the two of them headed for the commons block. Naruto bounced towards the mailboxes to check his mail because he was expecting a book, and Sasuke figured he might as well check his, too, even though he knew no one would write to him.

He frowned, confused, as he noticed a letter in his mailbox, even though he had no friends to send him mail. He pulled the letter out, staring at his name written neatly on the front. There was no address, just his name, which suggested the person had gone to the front desk and asked them to put it in his mailbox instead of actually mailing it.

He opened the letter as Naruto bounded back to him, and a single sheet of paper fell out. Picking it up off the floor, he read it, and felt his hands clench around the piece of paper.

'_I found you, little brother.'_

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, concerned, seeing the fear in his roommate's eyes, but his hands clenched in anger. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke said nothing so Naruto cocked his head to read the letter. He frowned, confused for a few seconds before it dawned on him. Little brother. Itachi. Uh oh.

"Sasuke, do you need something? Want to go back to the room?"

"No." Sasuke choked out, looking at Naruto. "You go to lunch. I-I have to go see Kakashi." Without waiting for a reply, Sasuke turned and flew towards the exit, slamming through the doors. He ran all the way to Kakashi's, not stopping even when his lungs threatened to close up on him. He pounded on Kakashi's door, his fists hurting from hitting the wood so hard, but he didn't stop.

_Kakashi can't be in class, please, __**God**__, he can't be in class!_ The door clicked and he sighed, relieved, as it opened, revealing his guardian in jeans and a shirt, his mask in place, as it always was.

"Sasuke, wha—" Sasuke thrust the piece of paper into Kakashi's face, almost taking out the older man's eyes in his haste. Kakashi grabbed the paper so he could focus on it, read it, and his eyes widened.

"Where did you get this?"

"My mailbox. He knows I'm here." Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's shirt and wrenched him into the house, closing the door. He went to his room, Sasuke following, and began to rummage in the drawers of the table beside his bed. He pulled out a gun and held it out to Sasuke while he reached for another.

"Take it."

"Kakashi—"

"Sasuke, you _know_ what he's capable of! Take it!" With a sigh, the raven took the gun and tucked it into the front of his pants, covering the handle with his shirt.

After the incident, Kakashi had gone out to buy some guns. The police had allowed this and said they could be used for protection against Itachi. He _was_, after all, a murderer. They knew he'd be back for Sasuke. The younger Uchiha had managed to avoid his brother thus far, hiding from him in plain sight, so to speak. It seemed his luck had now run out.

"Was there an address?" Kakashi asked as he held the gun in his hand expertly, having practised for hours at a shooting range to ensure he'd be able to take Itachi out if it ever came to that.

"No, just my name. He probably dropped it off at the front desk."

"Shit, that means he knows you live in Vanier." Kakashi sighed, rubbing his face with his free hand. "This is bad."

"What do I do? If I go back to my dorm, I put everyone there in danger! Itachi won't care who he has to kill to get to me! I won't have everyone's deaths on my conscience, Kakashi! I-I can't!"

"Calm down, Sasuke!" Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's shoulders, holding them tightly. The handle of the gun dug uncomfortably into the young boy's shoulder. "It's going to be _fine_. He won't have the chance to kill anyone in your dorm. People will notice something is wrong and call security."

"I don't want to risk it."

"And you think not going back makes them safer?" Kakashi inquired. Sasuke frowned, confused. "Think about it. If Itachi knows you're here, he knows you have a roommate and friends. He won't hesitate to kill them to bring you out. Do you want him using Naruto as bait? Think of what that boy's already been through." Sasuke's mind flashed back to his roommate, smiling brightly despite being covered in his own blood.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sasuke had never felt so useless—except for once. All those years ago when his parents had been killed.

"We'll go talk to the president. She'll find a way to make this work."

* * *

"You _can't _separate them, Ms. Sannin, the only thing keeping Sasuke alive right now is Naruto!"

"I _won't_ have the life of someone so important to me threatened like this! I won't have it, Kakashi!" Tsunade slammed her fist on the table before her.

Kakashi had been with her for an hour, trying to insist she just get police officers to peruse the campus. Her first decision had been transferring Naruto to Fairview. Kakashi wouldn't hear of it.

"_Please_, you don't understand. Sasuke almost committed suicide, and he hasn't even _thought_ of it since he and Naruto became friends. You can't separate them, it'll destroy him!"

"And what do you suggest I do?" Tsunade hissed. "I could just kick him out, instead, I'm willing to let him stay. I just choose to protect the people that are important to me."

"Ms. Sannin—" He was interrupted by a knock at the door. It opened, and a police officer entered.

"Hello, Tsunade."

"Keita, hi." The woman sighed, rubbing her face. "What can I do for you?"

"The force was called by a Kakashi Hatake."

"That's me. Did you find Itachi Uchiha?" the silver-haired man inquired.

"Apparently he knew this would cause a riot. He was seen boarding a plane to Australia two hours ago."

"Did he actually get on the plane?" Tsunade inquired.

"According to our sources, yes. We have men standing by in Perth to arrest him as soon as they land. Even if they don't catch him—which I doubt—he'll be out of Canada for a while. We'll be watching for his return. He won't be back without us knowing."

Tsunade visibly relaxed, letting out a slow breath. Kakashi turned back to her, his eyes pleading. With Itachi gone for the moment, Naruto was in no danger. Surely Sasuke and Naruto could remain roommates.

Kakashi's eyes flickered to the raven, who'd been sitting quietly throughout the entire ordeal. He was staring out the window, looking almost as if he was a cocky child being told off by the principal and not giving a damn. Kakashi knew better. He'd seen the way Sasuke's shoulders had tensed at the mention of being separated from Naruto. Kakashi only hoped the blond wouldn't be taken away from Sasuke.

"Hey, I remember you." They all turned back to Keita as he spoke, pointing at Sasuke. "You're Naruto's friend, right? You were the one that got put in the car for a photo for your Scavenger Hunt." Sasuke nodded briskly. "Man, the next time I talked to Naruto after that night, all he ever talked about was you. You've been a good friend to him, he really likes you." Keita smiled brightly. Kakashi turned to Tsunade, hoping this would make her sway towards letting Sasuke and Naruto remain as roommates. Her face gave nothing away.

"Anyway, I better get back. Tell Naruto I say 'hi' and I'll talk to you all later." He waved to Tsunade and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Tsunade sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. "This is a nightmare."

"Can we make him choose?" Tsunade's fingers parted so she could see through them, staring at Sasuke. "Can you call Naruto and have him choose whether to move or not? If he wants to stop being my roommate, I'll accept it because it's his choice. However, I cannot sit by and just have him taken away from me when he hasn't even had a say in it yet." Tsunade's eyes narrowed at his tone, but she saw his point.

Without a word, the blonde woman hit speaker and dialled Naruto's number.

"What do you want, you old hag?" Naruto's voice rang out through the office.

"Naruto, how would you like to have a single room?"

"Eh?" the blond asked, confused. "What, at the beginning of the year it's a double, now it's a single? Am I missing something?"

"You know about your roommate's situation, right?"

"That he's suicidal?" Sasuke winced, but said nothing.

"No, the other one."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the bullshit, brat, I'm talking about his brother. You know he's coming for Sasuke, and he knows where he is now. I'm just trying to look out for you." There was a long pause. "Naruto?"

"Thanks for worrying, Tsunade, but I'll be okay. Sasuke needs someone right now, and I don't think this would be the best time to leave him alone. Guy can't tie his own shoes without me looking over his shoulder, you know?" He laughed slightly. "I'll talk to you later." He hung up.

Tsunade was stunned. No, she was—she was—she didn't know _what_ she was, but she was something! At the beginning of the year, Naruto had wanted a single room. Now, it almost seemed as if he would fight with her if she tried to give him one. What the hell had _happened_ between the two roommates?!

"There. Everything's solved." Sasuke replied flatly. "I won't let anything happen to him, I promise." he said as he stood up. "If you don't mind, my roommate and I have a lab at three. I should get going." He left the room.

* * *

Sasuke slept badly that night, always looking over to make sure Naruto was alive and breathing. He could just see Itachi sneaking in and robbing Sasuke of yet another person. He almost wondered if Itachi would kill him, or everyone important to him. After all, it would be harder for Sasuke to live with himself if everyone he loved was gone.

The next day had been spent with Naruto trying to cheer Sasuke up. It was hard, but he managed to get a few smiles and laughs out of the raven, and it was good enough for him. He wasn't worried about being hurt; he'd grown up with the threat floating over his head. It meant nothing to him that he might die due to Sasuke's brother. He could die every day just for being Naruto Uzumaki.

That evening, however, Sasuke didn't need Naruto to cheer up. He was excited about having Kakashi and Iruka meet. He'd even gone so far as to going over to Kakashi's and picking out his outfit to make sure he looked good. He'd had to dump out the glop Kakashi had tried to pass off as food and began to cook something as Naruto came over. The blond helped him for a time before the scent of food was making him drool too much and Sasuke sent him to set the table.

An hour and a three-meal course later, the doorbell rang, and Sasuke ran to answer it, trying to suppress his grin by steeling his face into its usual stoic appearance.

"Hi, Sasuke." Iruka smiled warmly. "How are you?"

"I'm well. Yourself?" He moved aside so Iruka could enter.

"I'm all right. I'm sorry I had to come and convince your guardian I wasn't going to break you or anything."

"No need for you to apologize, I'm sorry you had the make the trip." Sasuke closed the door and motioned the living room.

"Not at all. I don't mind. I live alone, and it can get lonely sometimes. I'm glad I was invited for dinner."

"'Ruka!" Naruto bounded towards the ponytail-haired man, hugging him.

"Hey, Naruto, how are you? Practising your kicks?"

"Yes!"

"No." Naruto glared at his roommate for contradicting him, but Sasuke just smirked.

"Kakashi's in his room right now, so just have a seat in the living room with Naruto." Sasuke headed down the corridor to get his guardian. He found Kakashi lying on his bed, reading the latest volume of _Icha Icha Paradise_.

"Kakashi." he stated simply. The silver-haired man glanced at him. "He's here."

"I heard the doorbell."

"Well, come on, then."

"I want to be late."

"Kakashi, I did this for you, so make a good impression, dammit! Come on!"

With a sigh, the older man put his book down and got to his feet, following Sasuke into the living room. His eyes brightened as he looked over Iruka, taking in his muscled appearance.

"Hello, I'm Iruka Umino. Sasuke's instructor." He held his hand out to Kakashi.

"Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke's guardian."

The night went off without a hitch, Kakashi shooting glances at Iruka, and the other man either oblivious, or trying to play hard to get. Sasuke had no doubt in his mind now that Iruka was gay, and he proceeded to rub it in Naruto's face as they walked back to their place, having left Kakashi and Iruka alone.

"I get it, I get it!" Naruto threw his arms in the air in defeat. "I still don't know how you caught he was gay, though. I thought only gay guys had gaydar." Sasuke's steps faltered but he recovered quickly.

"Why do you say that?" Sasuke's voice came out harsh because he was trying to make sure it wasn't squeaky. Naruto misunderstood it for Sasuke being insulted.

"Hey man, I wasn't saying _you_ were gay. I was just stating a fact." Naruto insisted. "Don't freak out on me."

"Sorry." Sasuke muttered.

"Sasuke!"

The raven's eyes widened. _Oh no, please God, you're not __**that**__ mean!_

"Sasuke, it _is_ you!" He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and he was pulled flush against someone's chest. "How have you been? You haven't visited my class since that one time. Hey, Naruto."

"Hi Genma." the blond replied.

Sasuke turned to Raidou, still trapped in Genma's arms, and levelled the other man with a glare that would've made Satan cower in fright. Raidou gave him a look back that clearly stated, "Don't look at me like that, I _tried_ to stop him!"

Sasuke sighed, knowing it wasn't the scarred man's fault. You couldn't stop Genma with a freaking tank.

"Why do I have the feeling this isn't a coincidence?" Sasuke asked, finally being able to pull away from Genma.

"What do you mean?" Genma asked innocently, leaning back into Raidou. The other man wrapped his arms around Genma's waist, and Sasuke noticed Naruto looking everywhere but at them.

"I know Kakashi told you guys about Itachi. You don't have to follow me, I can take care of myself."

"We're just looking out for you, Sasuke." Raidou insisted.

"I'm fine." Sasuke raised the front of his shirt, showing the two men the gun he had tucked into his jeans. Naruto couldn't see it, and he would prefer it if the blond didn't know. It would probably make him freak out or something.

"We still worry." Raidou insisted as Genma pulled free and wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"So, Naruto, gotten laid lately?"

"Wh-what?" the blond sputtered, blushing red.

"You know, gotten into bed with a woman—or another man."

"No!" The blond looked away, blushing furiously.

"What? Handsome guy like you? You know, I don't mind trying you out if you ever feel like experimenting." Genma let out a yelp as Sasuke grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him away from Naruto.

"Leave him alone, you fucking pervert!" Sasuke growled angrily.

"What, Sasuke? Not my fault you haven't got the balls to offer to experiment." Genma waggled his eyebrows.

"We're roommates!" Naruto exclaimed. "Why do you keep insinuating that we're gay or something?! We're allowed to live together without being gay, you know!" Genma smirked as a pink tint appeared on Sasuke's cheeks.

Raidou hurriedly grabbed Naruto and walked ahead before anything was spilled in front of him. Genma deserved everything he got for this one.

"When are you going to tell him?" Genma inquired as soon as Raidou and Naruto were far enough away. Sasuke didn't reply. He instead lunged at Genma, sending the other man to the ground and wrapped his hands around Genma's throat, straddling his stomach.

"Kinky, Sasuke, but the choking kind of ruins it."

"Shut up!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily. "What the fuck is _wrong_ with you! I keep saying I'll tell him when I feel ready! Why do you keep trying to rush the process?! I don't want to fucking _lose_ him because of this, especially not _now_!" Genma's eyes widened and his face turned more serious, understanding what Sasuke was so worried about.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I should've considered what was going on right now. I'm just trying to make sure you don't lose him before you even have him."

"What?" Sasuke hissed, letting go of Genma's neck and sitting up.

"Kakashi and I have spoken. He's seen the way Naruto stares at one of the girls in your English class." Sasuke turned to look at the blond, who was laughing with Raidou. "If you don't hurry up and tell him, you'll lose him before you ever had him."

"It's not that simple." Sasuke whispered. "If I tell him and he freaks out, I lose him. If I don't tell him and he finds someone else, I lose him. Either way, I lose him."

"Or, you tell him, he thinks about it, figures out how he feels, and you _don't_ lose him."

"Say that does happen, won't change the fact that _he_ isn't gay." Sasuke insisted, shaking his head.

"You still don't know that. You should tell him. Soon, Sasuke."

"I'll think about it." Sasuke stood up and turned without offering Genma a hand up.

* * *

Sasuke walked slowly towards Vanier, on his way back from Geology. He kept an eye open for Naruto, wanting to ask if the blond was willing to eat off-campus today, but he hadn't caught sight of him yet. It was odd, because Sasuke _always_ saw Naruto when he was on his way back to the dorm. Today shouldn't have been any different.

He felt bile rising in his throat as he thought about what it could mean, but pushed it back down. Itachi was in Australia, and he was probably going to be hiding out there for a while. He could even already be caught, for all Sasuke knew. After all, Kakashi wasn't telling him any of the details, wanting Sasuke to just not worry about it. Sasuke suspected it was because he'd escaped. Chances were he'd killed every single cop waiting for him and gotten away. It wouldn't surprise him, honestly.

A loud cry interrupted his inner thoughts, and his head turned in the general direction.

"Shut up, or we'll make it worse!" Sasuke frowned, not liking those words. He walked around the building he stood in front of, and peeked around the corner leading to the back. The sight that greeted him made his stomach boil and his teeth grind. Angrily, he picked up the nearest rock and launched it at the head of the closest person.

"Ow! What the fuck!" The person turned around, glaring at Sasuke.

"Are you the three fuckers who beat him up on Tuesday, too?" Sasuke growled, his fists clenched at his sides as he slowly walked towards them.

"Sasuke, it's okay." Naruto muttered, curled up on the ground.

"Shut _up_, Naruto." the raven growled angrily.

"What's the matter?" Another one of the boys smirked at Sasuke. "You his _boyfriend_?"

"You have five seconds to get away from him."

"Or you'll what?" The last of the three smirked.

"Two more seconds and you'll find out."

None of them moved so Sasuke pulled up his shirt, whipped out his gun, and fired twice right in front of the closest one's feet.

"Holy shit!" he hollered, scrambling back and tripping over Naruto. The blond let out a whimper, but didn't move.

Sasuke aimed the gun at the one on the ground, the other two frozen. "Beat it."

The three hastily complied, practically tripping over each other as they scrambled to get away. Sasuke calmly put his gun away and walked towards Naruto.

Naruto sat up more and winced as he put weight against his right arm. He cradled it to his chest as Sasuke bent down in front of him.

"Moron." he muttered as he helped pull the blond to his feet, wrapping his right arm around Naruto's waist and pulling the other boy's left arm across his shoulders. "What's the point of learning karate if you don't use it?"

"I don't want to be the monster they think I am." Naruto whispered as he winced when he took his first step.

"Defending yourself doesn't make you a monster." Sasuke grumbled. "_They're_ the fucking monsters, _not_ you."

"Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto whispered.

Sasuke flipped open his cell phone, still helping Naruto head back to Vanier. He scrolled down to Anko's number and called it.

"Yo, Sasuke, I'm just about to start class."

"Naruto isn't coming. He got hurt, I'm taking him home."

"Is he okay?" There was genuine concern in Anko's voice, which caused Sasuke to smile. It was amazing how much people could care for the blond just because they knew Sasuke cared about him.

"He'll be fine. I'm probably going to bring him to get his shoulder checked out, but he should be okay."

"All right, I'll send the class notes to your email. Just pass them on to him."

"Thanks." He hung up and put his phone away.

"You didn't have to do that." Naruto whispered.

"Why not? It pays to know all the profs." the Uchiha replied.

"I meant help me out. I'm used to being beaten up."

"You shouldn't be." Sasuke spat. "Can't people accept that you aren't your mother? Why do they insist on doing this to you?" He helped Naruto to the doors of Robson and punched in the code before holding the door open. As they reached the second floor, Sasuke heard a feral growl and he was thrown off his feet, Naruto almost falling with him, but the blond was grabbed at the last minute.

"Fuck, asshole! What did you do?!" Kiba hollered angrily, helping Naruto stay standing.

"Kiba, you don't understand—"

"Don't defend him!" Kiba hollered at Naruto.

"Kiba, calm down." They turned to Shino as he exited his room. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."

Sasuke got back to his feet, brushing off the front of his pants. "He was beat up by three guys because he's an Uzumaki. I caught them, scared them off, and brought Naruto home." He glared at Kiba. "Now _if_ you don't mind, I'm going to clean up his wounds."

Kiba watched the raven uncertainly before looking at Naruto. Naruto didn't say anything. In fact, he looked about ready to pass out.

"You okay, Naruto?" Kiba inquired. Naruto said nothing as his eyes closed and he slumped heavily against Kiba. "Naruto!"

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	14. Druken Stupors and Misunderstandings

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Can anyone tell me why K. Masashi doesn't like to share? He still won't give me Kiba! And keeps trying to pawn off Itachi and Gaara! I DON'T WANT THEM! GIVE ME KIBA!**

_**

* * *

**_

"He's got a concussion." Tsunade informed Kotetsu. "It's mild, he should be fine. Just make sure someone wakes him up every hour and a half or so."

"What happened?" Izumo inquired. The blonde sighed, shaking her head.

"You tell me."

"Two of Sasuke's floor-mates had to take Sasuke away because he was panicking so much." Kotetsu informed, rubbing the bandage across his nose. "They left before I called you. They didn't tell me anything. They just came to me with a panicking Sasuke and told me to call you and have you come check on Naruto."

"Well, he'll be fine. Make sure you tell his roommate to wake him up every few hours. I'll set an alarm for now and hopefully, Sasuke will be back within the hour." Both RA's nodded and left.

Tsunade re-entered the room, walking back to Naruto's side. He was still asleep, but he'd definitely seen better days. She brushed his blond hair from his face and he stirred slightly, his blue eyes blinking open sleepily.

"Old hag?"

"Yeah, it's me, brat." She smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a bulldozer."

"Yeah, about that, what _were_ you hit by?" Naruto turned away from her and she sighed. She knew what that meant. "Someone beat you up again?"

"Nothing new." Naruto whispered.

"I don't want to keep having to fix you, Naruto. You have to start defending yourself."

"I can't!" Naruto insisted. "Don't you understand? If I strike back, then I'll be proving them right. I'll be proving that I _am_ a monster!"

"So, what, you're just going to let people beat you up for the rest of your life?" Tsunade asked angrily.

"I have no other choice!" Naruto hollered.

Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She didn't want to argue with Naruto, and she knew this was a conversation that Hitomi and he had had numerous times. But the boy was as stubborn as his father. He wasn't going to hit someone back just because they hit him first.

"Sasuke was really worried." she whispered, dropping her hand. "Apparently, two of your friends took him away to calm him down."

"Probably Shino and Kiba." Naruto whispered.

"They were worried, too, from what I heard." Tsunade said with a small smile. "I'm glad you have friends like them. I'm glad people finally learned to see who you are before judging you."

"Me too." Naruto whispered.

The door suddenly slammed open to reveal a panting Sasuke.

"Naruto!" He ran to Naruto's side and threw his arms around him. Naruto was stunned, but the stench of alcohol explained it all.

"Are you drunk?" Naruto inquired.

"We think so." Naruto turned to the door, Sasuke still attached to his neck. Kiba was scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "We may have gone a little overboard, but he was freaking out."

"Are you okay?" Shino inquired.

"I'm fine." Naruto said with a brilliant smile.

"Don't lie, brat." Tsunade spat before turning to the boys at the door. "He has a concussion. He's going to need to be woken up every hour. Since his roommate isn't going to be able to do that for a while, can you make sure you do?" She threw Shino a set of keys and he caught them. "Those are keys to his room. Just come in and make sure he's fully awake before you let him go back to sleep."

"Understood."

"We're sorry we left him here alone, but Sasuke was going a little crazy." Kiba shot in. "We would've gotten our other friends to come watch him, but they weren't here. We hoped telling Kotetsu and leaving Naruto's door open for him to watch him until you got here was enough."

"It was, thank you. You were very considerate to both Sasuke _and_ Naruto."

"Is he okay?" Sasuke asked, letting the blond go and clutching Tsunade's arm. "You're not taking him away, right?"

"No, Sasuke. I suggest you go to bed."

"No!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's shoulders and hugged him tightly, causing the other boy to wince. "I'm staying with 'Ruto!" he slurred.

"Yes, yes, you're staying with Naruto." Tsunade agreed, trying to pry him off the injured boy. "You're just going to be across the room."

"You won't take him?" Sasuke asked in such a pitiful voice that had Tsunade been considering taking the blond, she wouldn't anymore.

"No, I'm not going to take him. You'll be here, right, Naruto?"

"If I can still breathe." the blond choked out. Tsunade laughed, wrenching Sasuke off him and helping the raven into bed.

"Both of you get some sleep. I'll have someone bring you dinner later."

"Thanks." Naruto whispered as Tsunade closed the door.

The president turned to the two boys still standing in the corridor. "Try and let Sasuke sleep it off; he should be fine. Naruto, as you know, needs to be woken up every hour. Get some food for them, and I'll be sure to have you reimbursed."

"Don't worry about it." Kiba insisted. "We buy them a meal now, they'll just owe us later. It's cool."

"All right. Thanks." Tsunade turned and walked out of the building, clenching her fists angrily. If she _ever_ found out who'd done that to Naruto, they were going to be out of UBC so fast their shoes would be left behind!

* * *

Sasuke turned the page of his book in boredom, scanning the words but not really reading them. His eyes flickered to the time, and he winced. It was almost two in the morning and Naruto _still_ wasn't back. He knew the guys all went to a house party, but they _did_ have class in the morning.

It had been two weeks since Naruto had gotten beat up by those guys, and Sasuke hadn't seen them anywhere near Naruto since. He felt bad scaring them as much as he had—but just a _little_ bit. They deserved it, after all.

With Christmas looming closer, they had three more days of class before their exams started. The others were taking this as a cue to party. Sasuke was taking it as a cue to _study_.

The Uchiha pushed his book away and rubbed his face with both hands. He wanted to go to bed, but the mere thought of waking up without Naruto in the bed across the room was keeping him awake. Sasuke could handle him making out with some random girl, but if the blond didn't come home altogether, Sasuke was going to panic.

The Uchiha's phone rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He grabbed it and checked the caller ID. The sigh that escaped him was so huge one would think something bigger than Naruto calling him had caused it.

Sasuke flipped open the phone. "Hello, moron."

"_Sasuke_!" Sasuke held the phone away from his ear, wincing. There was no background noise, so the idiot had no reason to yell in his ear.

"What do you _want_, Kiba?" Sasuke grumbled. "And why do you have Naruto's phone?"

"Fuck, man, Naruto is _smashed_!" Kiba laughed. "You have to come get him, man. He's hardly even conscious."

"Why can't you bring him home?" Sasuke demanded.

"Because I'm hardly buzzed, fuck!" Kiba exclaimed. "I ain't leavin' until they kick me out on my sorry ass! Look dude, just grab his car keys and bring his Viper up. As long as you don't crash it, he shouldn't care."

Sasuke contemplated it for a minute. If Naruto found out Sasuke had not only _touched_ his baby, but _driven_ it, too, Naruto would flip. Then again, if Sasuke _didn't _go, the others would probably leave him passed out on the front lawn of some random house. Not an option.

"Sasuke?" The raven sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"Address?"

"Eighteenth and Vine. Thanks, dude." Sasuke just hung up. He didn't need a house number; he was under the impression it wouldn't be hard to find.

Walking to Naruto's shelf, Sasuke grabbed the blond's car keys and his blue hoodie, leaving the room. Making sure the door was locked, he headed for the exit.

He steeled himself the whole way to the car. It wasn't that he was a bad driver, and he knew he'd have no problem getting where he needed to go, but he was worried about Naruto's car. After all, Sasuke was heading to a house party, and he could bet drunk drivers would be leaving. He only hoped they avoided the sleek car.

Sasuke unlocked the door and sat down, slamming the door and putting the key in the ignition. He started the car and immediately, a small TV screen came out from between the wheel and the dash.

"_Hello, Naruto. Can I help you today?"_ Sasuke just stared. Was-was the bloody car _talking_ to him?! How had he not noticed this _last_ time?!

"Excuse me?"

"_Hello, Naruto. Can I help you today?"_ the car repeated.

"Unbelievable." Sasuke whispered. "The guy has the latest technology."

"_I am sorry, I did not understand the command. Please rephrase or repeat the command more clearly."_

"Uh, map of Vancouver." A map appeared on the small screen and he frowned. "Map easiest route from UBC to Eighteenth and Vine."

"_Mapping easiest route from University of British Columbia to Eighteenth and Vine."_ A red line appeared on the map, and Sasuke nodded, satisfied. At least he wouldn't get lost.

As the raven left the parking lot and followed the map all the way to his destination, he realized he probably hadn't noticed the little screen the last times he'd been in the car because Naruto always got in the car first. He probably turned it off or something.

Sasuke didn't even have to find the house, because a few houses away from the turn onto Vine, he saw a figure standing on the corner, another lying on the ground. He had no doubt who they were.

He slowed at the corner and Kiba bent down to pick up the blond, who was groaning. Sasuke reached across the passenger's seat and pushed open the door. Kiba pulled it open all the way with his foot and struggled to manoeuvre the drunk blond into his seat.

Naruto let out a groan as he fell into the seat, Kiba leaning over him to buckle him in.

"You're driving my car, bastard." Naruto slurred. "Off." Sasuke thought he was talking to him until the screen went black and disappeared back to where it had come from. _So __**that's**__ why I've never seen it before, _the raven mused._ He has it, he just never __**uses**__ it._

"I don't have my own. It was this, or leave you passed out on the front lawn."

"Thanks, Sasuke. Don't kill him." Kiba slammed the door and Naruto groaned again.

"Are you going to hurl?" Sasuke asked as he pulled a U-turn in the empty street, starting back towards UBC. He had memorized the route on his way, so he didn't need the screen again.

"I might need a bag." Naruto admitted, looking a little green.

"Do you have any in the car?" Sasuke glanced at the blond. His head was back against the headrest and his eyes were closed.

"Glove box, probably." Naruto slurred. "Can you get it?"

Sasuke reached over, keeping an eye on the road, and pulled open the glove box. After grabbing a bag and putting it in Naruto's hands, he closed it and straightened again.

"I never pegged you for a quiet drunk." Sasuke admitted.

"It's better." Naruto slurred. "I always tell the truth when I'm drunk."

Sasuke's head snapped towards Naruto, and he smirked slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah." Naruto held the bag in front of himself, looking a little green around the gills.

Sasuke's grip loosened and tightened on the steering wheel. He didn't know how drunk Naruto was, so if he took advantage of this opportunity, and Naruto remembered, he would be furious. Sasuke didn't want to undo everything he'd worked so hard to build. No, it wasn't worth the risk. Sasuke would wait.

Absently, Sasuke realized that just a few weeks ago, it had been the other way around. Of course, Naruto had seen drunk-Sasuke for about five minutes before he'd promptly passed out on the bed, so at least he hadn't said anything embarrassing.

"I feel sick." Naruto informed, as if Sasuke couldn't tell for himself.

"How much did you drink, anyway?" Sasuke inquired as he turned into UBC.

"A lot."

"How much is a lot?" Naruto didn't answer for a long time, and Sasuke suspected he'd passed out when Naruto finally replied. He'd obviously been counting.

"Seven beers and a few mixed drinks."

"Tch. Moron." Sasuke pulled into Naruto's reserved parking spot and turned off the car, climbing out. He opened Naruto's door and unbuckled his seatbelt before pulling his legs out. He grabbed Naruto's arm and hauled him out of the car, wrapping one of Naruto's arms around his shoulders and putting his own around Naruto's waist.

"You owe me for this, Uzumaki." Sasuke informed as he slammed the car door with his foot and hit the auto-lock on the keys.

"You drove my baby, I owe you nothing, Uchiha." Naruto stumbled, but Sasuke kept him standing. "Can I sit for a minute?"

"You can sit when we get back to the room." Sasuke grunted.

Naruto leaned heavily against Sasuke, stumbling and tripping every few steps. The walk back to Robson had never seemed so long to Sasuke, and he let out a sigh as they reached the outer door.

Shifting Naruto, Sasuke dug into his pocket and pulled out his keys, typing in his code and opening the door. He pulled the blonde to the stairs and Naruto groaned.

"Suck it up, we're almost there. Serves you right for getting drunk."

"Fuck you." Naruto grumbled.

Sasuke stopped on the stairs, smirking. "Do you want me to leave you here?"

"No."

"Then stop being an idiot." Sasuke began pulling him again.

They reached the second floor and he got their door open. The two of them stumbled into the room, the light still on since Sasuke hadn't bothered to turn it off when he left.

"I'm going to bed." Naruto pulled away from Sasuke and practically ran into the end of his bed. Sasuke just stared on in amusement, watching as Naruto climbed into his bed, falling face first onto his mattress.

"You comfy?" Sasuke teased.

"No. My clothes are too tight." was the muffled reply.

Sasuke let out an explosive sigh in jest and came up beside Naruto. The blond opened one eye to look at the raven beside him.

"Does this mean you want me to take off your clothes?" Sasuke teased.

"Yes, please." Naruto's eye closed again. Sasuke's grin faded.

_What?! _His inner self was grinning hugely as he danced around happily. _Really?!_

Sasuke climbed up onto the bed and his throat suddenly went dry. He was going to be undressing his drop dead gorgeous roommate, and said roommate _still_ didn't know he was gay! Would he have allowed Sasuke to do this if he knew?

Naruto rolled onto his back, staring up sleepily at Sasuke. The raven swallowed hard, straddling Naruto's thighs to get better leverage, and reached down to help the blond sit up. Naruto rested his forehead on Sasuke's shoulder as the Uchiha reached down and began to slip off Naruto's shirt.

"Raise your arms." Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear. The blond complied, and Sasuke pulled his shirt off, Naruto's head leaving Sasuke's shoulder for a few seconds before returning to it. Sasuke swallowed hard as he threw the shirt on the floor.

The raven put one hand on Naruto's chest to push him back down, but of course, he used the opportunity to slowly explore Naruto's upper body, his fingers running over some of his scars.

Naruto seemed oblivious as he lay down, and Sasuke moved to straddle his knees. Sasuke's hands were shaking with anticipation, even though he kept reminding himself this was _not_ going to lead anywhere.

He unbuttoned Naruto's jeans and then unzipped them. _Oh God, oh God, oh God..._ Sasuke struggled to keep his face impassive and his breathing normal.

"Lift your hips." Naruto did so and Sasuke felt his lower region stir. He growled for it to stop, but—_damn_ Naruto looked hot like that! He was vulnerable, half-drunk, his hips were in the air, he kept making these cute little moan sounds, he was bloody gorgeous, _and Sasuke wanted him right now_!

_That's it,_ Sasuke thought with a sigh. _God hates me. He's punishing me, I know it._

"Sasuke?" The raven's eyes snapped to Naruto's face, the azure gaze watching him.

"Sorry." Sasuke grabbed the top of the jeans and tugged them down his thighs, Naruto's hips falling back to the bed. Sasuke got off the bed, standing at the foot of it. He pulled off Naruto's shoes and socks before tugging off his jeans.

Now, Sasuke stared at Naruto, lying on his bed in nothing but a pair of dark blue boxers. It wasn't damn fair!

"Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto mumbled as he rolled onto his side, pulling the blankets out from under him so he could get beneath them.

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a time as the blond fell asleep, wondering if him sleeping three feet off the ground was a good idea. Seriously, being that high off the ground was dangerous, and Sasuke didn't trust Naruto not to randomly roll over and fall off.

He thought about what to do as he checked Naruto's schedule. He figured the two of them could sleep through Chemistry and Sasuke could help Naruto out, but he knew the blond couldn't miss Math. That meant Sasuke would have to wake Naruto up at nine. The blond would be angry, but there was nothing Sasuke could do about that.

Setting the alarm and getting all of Naruto's books in order, Sasuke packed his own bag for the next day, still pondering how to make sure Naruto didn't fall off the bed. In fact, he was _still_ thinking about it as he headed for the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Sasuke returned barely five minutes later and almost let out a shout as Naruto rolled and came dangerously close to falling off the bed. Only Sasuke running to him and forcing him to roll over the other way saved him from the three-foot drop.

"Moron." Sasuke grumbled.

He went back to the door to close it and picked up his toothbrush and toothpaste, which he'd dropped to save Naruto. Now more than ever he didn't trust the blond to sleep without falling off.

Sasuke pulled off his shirt, thinking about how to save Naruto from injuring himself when he paused. There was _one_ way, but he didn't know how Naruto would react to it. Of course, Sasuke could argue that he was just making sure Naruto didn't fall off the bed. The blond didn't have to know Sasuke benefited from it.

Changing into a pair of loose fitting drawstring pants, Sasuke locked the door and turned off the light. He steeled himself as he headed for Naruto's bed and climbed onto it, getting under the covers beside him. Naruto was against the wall, and Sasuke was near the edge. Now, the only way for Naruto to roll off the bed was to push Sasuke off it first. Sasuke trusted himself to wake up if Naruto nudged him closer to the edge.

"Night, moron." Sasuke whispered before closing his eyes for sleep.

* * *

Naruto groaned, his head throbbing painfully. His bladder was screaming at him to go to the bathroom and, as much as he didn't want to, he knew it was no use arguing. His body always won.

He brought his arm up to check the time and groaned. It was five in the damn morning!

That was when he noticed it. There was an arm draped across his stomach. Naruto held up both hands. _Yep, _he thought. _Both there, and unless I grew a third arm while I was drunk, I'm not alone._ Turning his head slowly to see who was spooning with him, he saw midnight black hair and pale skin.

Naruto blinked. And then blinked again. He blinked a few more times before speaking, "Sasuke?" he asked, confused. "What are you doing?"

The raven stirred, opening his eyes sleepily. "Didn't want you to fall off the bed." he mumbled, releasing Naruto and rolling onto his other side to go back to sleep.

"Oh." Naruto couldn't help but miss the heat of another body against him. He shuffled with the blankets for a few seconds before sliding to the foot of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, turning to look at him.

"Bathroom." Naruto said, leaving the room. He went down the hall and knocked on Kiba's door before heading to the bathroom. There was no reply, not even a groan to suggest he'd come back. Naruto just shrugged and stumbled to the bathroom, each step making his head throb.

When he was done, he returned to the room and opened the door. Sasuke was still lying in his bed. Naruto frowned in distaste as he glanced at Sasuke's bed. He had three choices: he could kick Sasuke off his bed, he could sleep in Sasuke's bed, or he could sleep in his bed with Sasuke.

Option one was a bad idea because Naruto was currently hung over and trying to force Sasuke out of bed would probably be bad for his health.

Option two wasn't appealing because Naruto liked being cocooned in blankets and all Sasuke had was a comforter. Not good enough.

Option three was the only one left, _and_ the least painful one. So, sighing, Naruto closed the door, locking it, and headed back for his bed. He climbed onto it and got back under the covers, turning his back to Sasuke and trying to go back to sleep.

Sasuke's heart rate increased as the blond lay beside him. He hadn't asked Sasuke to move—not that he would've, anyway—and he hadn't gone to sleep in Sasuke's bed. He'd returned to his occupied bed to sleep with him.

The raven couldn't help an impossibly huge grin from appearing on his face. Maybe things were beginning to look up for him, after all.

Naruto's breathing soon evened out to indicate he was asleep and Sasuke rolled over so he was facing the blond's back. He winced as he saw light scars, running one finger along each one before scooting closer to Naruto and wrapping his arms around his waist. He pulled the other boy flush against his chest and buried his face in golden locks, inhaling deeply.

The movement caused Naruto to wake up, but he just assumed Sasuke was cuddly when he slept in close proximity with someone. At Naruto's, the bed was huge, and he'd woken up with Sasuke close to him, but not necessarily snuggling him. Since this bed was remarkably smaller, he didn't find it strange the raven was curled up against him.

Saving Sasuke the embarrassment, Naruto figured he would just put up with it and go back to sleep. Then again, he rather enjoyed feeling Sasuke pressed against his back like that. It was an odd feeling, really, to be enjoying it, but he did. He wasn't sure _why_ he did, but that could be dealt with in the morning.

Naruto closed his eyes and went back to sleep, Sasuke still spooned up against him.

* * *

Naruto jerked up in bed as his alarm sounded.

"Turn it off!" he cried, covering his ears. The sound was amplified by a million with his hangover, and he could almost _feel_ his brain dribbling out of his ears.

The arms around his waist disappeared as Sasuke leaned over to turn it off. Once it was done, he snuggled against Naruto's back once more, holding him tightly against his chest.

"Morning." he breathed against the blond's neck. Naruto blinked.

"Uh, morning." If his head hadn't been hurting so much, he would've found the space to be confused. As it was, he just settled with being in pain.

"Did you sleep okay?" Sasuke tightened his hold on the blond, snuggling into his hair.

"Uh, I guess. We should get up, we'll be late for Chem."

"I set it an hour later. You have Math."

"What?!" Naruto flew out of bed, forcing Sasuke to let him go. "Are you insane?!"

"No." Sasuke sat up, stretching. He was a little disappointed at losing the contact. "I can teach you whatever we missed. I didn't want to wake you up too early considering how drunk you were last night."

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto grabbed his toothbrush and ran out of the room to brush his teeth. It was only when he reached the bathroom that he realized he had no reason to rush. He wasn't going to walk into Orochimaru's class late, so he may as well just calm down and go at his normal pace.

_At least I'll make it to Math,_ the blond mused as he brushed his teeth.

Sasuke walked into the bathroom as Naruto was spitting the foam out of his mouth. As the raven passed behind him, he ran one hand lightly along Naruto's lower back, causing him to jump. He turned to look at Sasuke, but the raven pretended nothing had happened.

_Hangover subsiding, letting brain clear, confusion setting in. What is going on?_ Naruto thought, confused. Sasuke was acting really strange.

Ignoring it and blaming it on his hangover, Naruto returned to the room and got dressed. Sasuke returned shortly after and the two of them chatted amiably as they changed.

"You coming to breakfast?" Naruto inquired as he checked his bag before shouldering it.

"Sure." The two of them left the room.

They got to the cafeteria and Naruto went through the checkout first, grabbing an empty table by the window. He sat down and began munching on his toast, staring out the window. When Sasuke joined him, he turned to his roommate.

"Want to go to Ichiraku's for lunch? I'll wait for you to get out of Sociology and Sport." Sasuke nodded as he twirled his spoon in his cereal.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan."

Naruto jumped, hissing as his knees hit the table. He looked under the table and saw Sasuke's foot on the floor. What the hell had just happened? He'd felt something running up his leg.

Shrugging and taking it as Sasuke shifting and accidentally hitting him, the blond ignored the obvious flirtation and continued to babble with Sasuke, the two of them finishing their breakfast quickly before heading out.

As they walked to class, the back of Sasuke's hand kept brushing against Naruto's, and when they began to split up to head to their different classes, Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto's hair before saying he'd see him in English.

Naruto was confused as he walked towards his class in the Math Annex, sitting down in between Gaara and Neji when he got there. He took out his books and then leaned back in his seat, frowning.

"You okay?" Neji inquired, seeing the confused look on the blond's face.

"Yeah, just trying to figure something out." Naruto replied, his eyebrows furrowed.

Sasuke was acting different. He normally liked hanging out with Naruto, so that was fine. That was normal. But he was much more touchy-feely than he usually was—and usually, he wasn't touch-feely at _all_.

Naruto shoved the end of his pen in his mouth, chewing on it as he thought about that morning. He'd woken up and gone to the bathroom before returning to the room. Everything was normal. He'd gotten back into bed with Sasuke, which was odd to him, but still, Sasuke was acting normal. Sasuke had cuddled him, which Naruto couldn't place under normal or abnormal since he didn't know if Sasuke was a normal cuddler.

It was the rest of the morning that got to him. When Sasuke had woken up the second time, he'd snuggled up to Naruto again after having turned off the alarm clock, even though the two of them were awake now. And then there was the incident in the bathroom. And _then _in the cafeteria. And lastly, right before they separated.

Naruto pulled the pen out of his mouth and tapped it against his lips, not even noticing that Ibiki had walked in and the class had started ten minutes ago. It was as he stared at his pen that something dawned on him. Holding the pen out in front of him, his eyes widened.

_Oh my God, Sasuke is gay._ It explained a lot. Why he'd been acting like that with Naruto, why Kiba, Shino and Shikamaru always came to his rescue at the weirdest times, and why he always had a look on his face that suggested he was trying to hide how he was feeling inside when he saw Naruto naked or somewhat undressed.

_But why would he suddenly start hitting on me now? Obviously, he's liked me for a while if I'm reading his looks properly now that I think he's gay, but why would he have waited this long to—_Naruto almost hit himself in the head, but that would've attracted attention. _Shit, cause I got back into bed with him._ Naruto was in trouble.

Then again, he didn't have _proof_ that his roommate was gay. He was just assuming. Naruto didn't know how he would feel if Sasuke _was_ gay, though. Well, he wasn't a homophobe or anything, so he wasn't concerned with Sasuke being gay. If the raven happened to have a crush on him, though—that could prove to be a problem. Naruto had never been with anyone before, whether it be female _or_ male. He'd never really considered looking at other guys, and he wasn't really interested in doing so, either. Naruto really hoped Sasuke wasn't gay.

The end of class hit and Naruto practically dragged his feet to English class, praying he was wrong about Sasuke. He was his best friend, and he didn't want to lose him because he'd given Sasuke the wrong signals.

_If the bastard had come clean about his sexual preferences in the __**first place**_Naruto thought annoyed, _I wouldn't be in this situation! I would know what was proper and what wasn't. _

He entered his English class and sat down beside Kiba, nodding to him. Sasuke promptly appeared on his other side.

"How was Math?" he inquired, leaning much closer to the blond than usual.

"Enlightening." Naruto admitted, shifting slightly.

Kiba noticed the discomfort and his eyes shot to Sasuke. The raven didn't seem to notice.

"So, Kiba, what happened last night?" Naruto asked, turning to him.

"Nothing much. None of us got as drunk as you did." he teased.

"Yeah, well..." Naruto trailed off, rubbing the back of his head. "I knocked on your door this morning at five. Where were you?"

"Oh, we spent the night at Hinata's parents' house. She lived close-by and saw us walking home from the party cause the buses had stopped. She felt bad and asked her parents if we could stay the night. It was sweet of her." The brunette turned to survey the girl at the back of the class. She was sitting alone, reading a book. "I think I'm going to go sit with her." Kiba grabbed his books, but paused when he noticed Naruto tense. "Uh, you don't mind, do you?"

"No, it's fine." Naruto said, his eyes glued to the desk before him. Kiba looked at Sasuke, who met his gaze. He silently asked him what he'd done to the blond and Sasuke just glared, not liking being accused when he'd done nothing.

"Naruto, we'll talk later." he stated as he glared at Sasuke before going to the back and sitting beside Hinata.

"I think he likes her." Sasuke told Naruto.

"He does." Naruto whispered, shifting again and keeping his eyes on his desk. "He told Shino and I once when we were playing cards."

"Whatever floats your boat." Sasuke stretched his arm out along the back of Naruto's chair and the blond cleared his throat.

He really felt bad for being uncomfortable around Sasuke, and he managed to calm down a few minutes later, the two of them returning to their usual selves, shoving each other, joking around, and trying to think of excuses Kakashi was going to come up with for being later than usual.

When the silver-haired man _did_ arrive, his clothes were dishevelled, he was wearing two different shoes, and his hair looked like it had gone through a hurricane. People snickered, but nobody said anything as he began teaching the course.

Since he'd arrived so late, it only lasted for about twenty minutes or so. Once it was time, the class began to empty, everyone packing up their things and talking to one another as they headed for the door.

As for Sasuke, he leaned towards his blond roommate, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder and bringing his lips close to Naruto's ear.

"I'll see you after my class for lunch." he breathed in his ear before getting up and leaving.

Naruto didn't move, waiting for everyone in the class to leave before he shouldered his bag and slowly headed for Kakashi.

"Can I help you, Naruto?" Kakashi inquired, turning a page of his orange novel.

"Uh, yeah. I had a question—about Sasuke." Kakashi paused in his reading, putting the book down on the table and crossing his arms.

"What is it?" Naruto fidgeted.

"I was just wondering—um..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his head. He winced as he spoke his next words. "Is Sasuke gay?"

Kakashi just stared at him.

Naruto frowned, unsure of what this meant. Either he had insulted Kakashi by even _suggesting_ that Sasuke was gay, or Sasuke was gay and Kakashi didn't know what to do.

Meanwhile, Kakashi's inner thoughts were something like this: _What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?_

"You know what, never mind." Naruto insisted, saving the professor from having to answer. "If he is, he'll tell me in his own time. If he's not—he's a very touchy feely person. Not something you'd expect from such a cold bastard." Naruto waved to Kakashi as he headed out the door, Kakashi watching him leave.

The second the blond was out the door, Kakashi sank into his seat and let out an enormous sigh.

"I wish I was Raidou." he muttered. "Not _only_ would I know what to say, but I'd also be having great sex every night." He sighed shaking his head. "I need to get laid."

He then reminded himself that he would be getting laid very, very soon, if the night before was any indication.

* * *

The rest of the day progressed very similarly to that morning. They went to lunch, and Sasuke was touchy-feely. They went to Biology, and Sasuke was touchy-feely. They separated, and Sasuke was touchy-feely. Naruto was getting a little worried.

As he walked back to his dorm from Physics class, he decided that he and Sasuke were going to have to talk about this. Naruto was flattered, but to be honest, he was a little confused. He didn't entirely _dislike_ the way Sasuke was treating him, but he was also pretty sure he liked _women_.

He stood outside his bedroom door and took a deep breath before opening it, closing it behind him. His eyes sought out Sasuke, who was sitting at his computer.

As the raven heard the door open, he spun around and grinned at his roommate. "How was Physics?"

"Terrifying, as usual. Anko is nuts." Naruto dropped his bag by the foot of his bed and shoved his hands into the large pocket of his hoodie. "Sasuke, we need to talk."

"Oh?" Sasuke stood up now, walking slowly towards Naruto. "About what?"

"Well, about last night, mostly." Naruto admitted, unconsciously stepping back as Sasuke advanced. "And-and about something I may have discovered."

"And what might that be?" Naruto hit the door, and he had nowhere else to back up to.

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but—are you gay?" Sasuke chuckled as he came closer... and closer... and closer...

"I'd have thought it was obvious by now." He reached Naruto, putting one hand on either side of Naruto's head, flat against the door. "Am I not making myself clear enough for you?"

"Okay." Naruto squeaked. "Uh, I realize that I-I _may_ have given you some-some signals." Sasuke moved closer into Naruto's personal space. "Si-signals that aren't-aren't exactly accurate."

"Oh?" Sasuke leaned closer, brushing his lips lightly along Naruto's jaw line as he spoke. "And why aren't they accurate?"

Now Naruto was _really_ confused. On the one hand, he wanted to throw Sasuke off him and run away screaming, but on the _other_ hand, this wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"I-I'm not gay." Naruto blurted out.

Sasuke pulled away to lock eyes with the blond. "Are you sure?"

Before Naruto could reply, Sasuke's lips were on his. It was a chaste kiss, really. All the raven had done was press his lips gently against the blond's. He pulled away to gauge Naruto's reaction. He hadn't met any resistance, and the glazed look in Naruto's eyes made him think maybe the blond hadn't disliked it.

Pressing his luck, Sasuke leaned forward again, kissing the blond a second time. This time, though, he opened his mouth to lightly run the tip of his tongue along the seam of Naruto's lips.

_This _got him a reaction, and not one he particularly liked. Naruto gasped and hastily shoved the raven away from him, scrambling to grab the doorknob. He threw open the door and bolted out of the room, running right in between Shikamaru and Chouji, almost bowling them over. Sasuke appeared in the corridor a second later.

"Naruto, wait!" he called after the blond, but he was already gone. "Fuck!"

"What did you do?" Shikamaru demanded, his eyes narrowed.

Sasuke's mouth went dry, and he _really_ wanted to hide in his room when two doors down the corridor opened.

Kiba was coming.

Sasuke _really_ wanted to hide.

"What's wrong?" Kiba's voice asked from behind him.

"Naruto just bolted out of here like his boxers were on fire, and then this one comes running out of the room calling for him to wait." Chouji motioned Sasuke.

If it were possible, the already unnaturally pale Uchiha paled even more. Kiba grabbed the back of his shirt, wrenching him around and holding him angrily by the front of the shirt.

"What did you do?!"

Sasuke attempted to keep his face stoic, and gave himself a mental pat on the back when he succeeded. "I didn't hurt him if _that's_ what you're worried about. What are you, his guard dog?"

"And so what if I am?" Kiba growled, sounding particularly dog-like.

"What happened, Sasuke?" Shino asked calmly, prying Kiba's hands off Sasuke's shirt. "Did you tell Naruto you were gay?"

"No, he figured it out for himself." Sasuke insisted as he straightened out his shirt calmly.

"How?" Shikamaru inquired from behind him.

Sasuke turned to him. "When I tried to shove my tongue down his throat."

"_**What?!"**_

Shino struggled to hold the thrashing brunette back as he attempted to rip out Sasuke's tongue. Sasuke himself didn't look too concerned outwardly, but inwardly, he had to admit, he was a little scared.

"He's gone through enough shit, Uchiha!" Kiba hollered. "Leave him the fuck alone!"

"I don't want to fucking hurt him!" Sasuke yelled back angrily. "I fucking _like_ him! I got rejected and fine, okay, I'll accept it! I still want to be his friend, and now I know that I have to back off! Stop acting as if I'm going to beat the shit out of him for it!"

Kiba and Sasuke glared at each other for a while before Sasuke finally turned on his heel and slammed into his room. Once inside, he sank to the ground, his back against the door, and buried his face in his hands.

"Fuck, I _totally_ screwed up." he muttered.

* * *

**A/N: I wish I had a Sasuke. Those beds are actually incredibly dangerous, I kid you not. I fell off mine scrambling for my phone and I ended up with a bruised face, a HUGE bruise on my left arm and some weird sort of problem with my right arm. It wasn't moving the way I wanted it to, and it was annoying. So, yes... Lesson learned, don't value phone more than self.**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	15. Revelations

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: I needed a guard dog, so I went to a pet shop and bought one, but he was promptly retrieved. Hey, no one said K. Masashi's house wasn't a pet shop, and no one said Kiba wasn't a dog!**

_**

* * *

**_

Naruto was tired.

Naruto was _really_ tired.

Naruto was threatening to pass out soon if he didn't stop running.

Naruto _couldn't _stop running.

And so, Naruto was tired.

He ran all the way to Tsunade's house, unable to stop no matter how much his lungs begged him to. That, or at least to slow down a little bit. It was probably the first time Naruto's brain won over his body.

He reached Tsunade's house and banged on the door. He was in such a panic he forgot she had a doorbell.

The door opened a few seconds later, Tsunade and Jiraiya both there.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" The blond pushed past the two adults, pacing in the entranceway.

"I-I've never been in a relationship before!" he blurted out, not sure where to start, but finding that to be the best place.

Jiraiya began to laugh. "You've finally met a girl!"

"Actually, I think I'm in love with a guy." Naruto blurted out again.

There was silence.

"Oh." Tsunade slowly closed the door and led the way to the living room, the two men following. "I, uh—have to admit, I never thought you were gay."

"Neither did I!" Naruto exclaimed in a panic, his hands tugging at his hair.

"Naruto, calm down." Jiraiya pushed him into one of the couches and sat down beside him. "Start from the beginning. What happened?"

"Well, I got drunk last night and Sasuke said he was worried I was going to fall off the bed, so he slept in the same bed with me, but I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and when I came back I just kind of got back in my bed again with him, I didn't think anything of it, but then he started acting all touchy-feely, and I was confused and figured he was just like that and I hadn't noticed, but then I started thinking that maybe he was gay so I asked my English professor, who's his guardian, if he was, and he didn't reply so I got worried and decided to talk to him, but when I went to talk to him, he pinned me against the door and he kissed me, and I didn't necessarily like it, but I also didn't _not_ like it, so now I'm all confused and I don't know what to do!"

Tsunade was stunned Naruto hadn't died. He'd said than _entire_ sentence in one breath. She was impressed.

She was also clueless as to what to do.

"I have a plan." Jiraiya stated. "Come with me, Naruto."

"What are you going to do?" Tsunade asked with a frown.

"An experiment. Please excuse us." The older man dragged Naruto towards the stairs, the two of them climbing them and heading to the office.

Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't share the house, but a lot of Jiraiya's things were in there, as well as a few of his programs and pictures on her computer.

He pushed Naruto down into the chair and clicked on his name, typing in a password.

"Before we start, just know this, brat: you tell Tsunade I know her password, I skin you alive."

"Uh, okay." Naruto said worriedly.

Jiraiya opened his own account first and went into his pictures. "You ready?"

"For what?" the blond asked, confused. Jiraiya said nothing and clicked on a picture to enlarge it. Instantly, Naruto was staring at a naked woman.

The blond had to admit, he wasn't surprised that Jiraiya had these kinds of pictures. He _was_ a pervert, after all, and he'd never attempted to hide it from Naruto, not even when he'd been a kid.

Jiraiya watched Naruto carefully, and after a few seconds, he closed the picture and logged off. He then clicked Tsunade's name and typed in her password. Going to her pictures, he double-clicked on an image and it went full-screen. This time, it was a naked man.

Again, Jiraiya looked over the blond before nodding and clicking out of the picture.

"You're gay."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, confused. "How can you tell?" Jiraiya merely pointed at Naruto's crotch. The blond followed his gaze. He was popping a tent. "Are you—upset?" he inquired in a small voice, avoiding Jiraiya's gaze,

"Upset?" the white-haired man asked. "Of course not, why would I be?"

"Do you think Tsunade will be?" Naruto whispered.

"Naruto, this is the Twenty-First Century. This is pretty common." Jiraiya insisted.

"Do you think grandma would've been upset?"

It had been so low Jiraiya had almost missed it. But, he hadn't, so he was going to have to talk to him. Sighing, he pulled up another one of the chairs and sat down beside the boy who was practically family.

"Naruto, you've grown up with lots of problems. You've never really had any friends, and people always treated you horribly. This is finally something you're allowed to _have_. Don't worry about what other people think anymore. Just worry about yourself and ask yourself: do you want this?" He held up his hand to stop the blond as he opened his mouth to reply. "Don't answer now, think about it. It's your choice. If you want your roommate, then by all means, go for it. If you don't, then work something out with him. Either way, your roommate is a good guy, and I think he's a true friend. I think whatever you choose won't change that you're friends."

Naruto thought about this for a few minutes before nodding. "Okay. Thanks, Jiraiya."

"No problem. Don't let this bother you. And don't feel embarrassed that you didn't know you were gay. Like you told us, you've never been in a relationship before. You've never had the opportunity. You probably would've figured it out if you had, but since you hadn't and it's usually guy-likes-girl, you immediately went for that particular social norm, even though it wasn't what you wanted." Naruto nodded again.

"Okay. Thanks."

They stood up and went back downstairs, Jiraiya proudly telling Tsunade that Naruto was gay. She didn't seem bothered by it, to Naruto's relief.

"Make sure Sasuke doesn't break your heart, cause I'll break his knees." Naruto laughed slightly.

"I'm sure it'll all work out. Thanks for your help."

"No problem, brat. Come to us anytime." Naruto waved as he headed for the door and left.

"Saw it coming." Tsunade smirked as soon as the door was closed.

"As did I." Jiraiya smirked back.

Meanwhile, outside, Naruto was still thinking things over in his head. He didn't want to rush headfirst into something he had no experience in, so he headed in the direction of one person who could help him.

It took him ten minutes to reach Kakashi's house, and he knocked lightly on the door, wondering if the silver-haired man was even home. After a few seconds, he heard light footsteps and the door opened, revealing Kakashi in a towel with his mask on. Naruto's eyes flickered to behind Kakashi, where Iruka was _obviously_ trying to hide.

_Well shit, Sasuke knows everything,_ Naruto almost pouted.

"Naruto!" Kakashi exclaimed surprised. "Is everything okay?"

"I'll come back." The blond began to turn away when Kakashi grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back.

"No! No, no, no, it's okay." he insisted worriedly. "What? What is it? You've never come by alone, what's up?"

"Uh, Sasuke kissed me." Kakashi's eyes widened. "And I liked it." Kakashi's eyes bugged out. "And I just figured out I'm gay." Kakashi's eyes plain fell out of his head. "Are you okay?"

"Unbelievable! He kissed you? Are you sure this was Sasuke?"

"Yes." Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Is it that much out of character?"

"Yes!" Kakashi exclaimed. "This is a momentous occasion! Sasuke actually going for something other than Itachi and suicide?" Naruto's eyes widened at these words.

"Shit!" Without another word, he spun around and ran back towards the dorm, Kakashi calling after him, confused.

_Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit!_ Naruto ran as fast as he could. _He wouldn't, would he? No, it'd be ridiculous! I'm his best friend. Sure, he freaked me out, but it's no reason to go and do it cause I ran off, right? Shit! He damn well __**better**__ not have or I'll kick his sorry ass!_

Naruto reached Robson breathing hard, pretty sure he'd lost ten pounds from all the running he'd been doing. He punched in the code and ran up the stairs, slamming through the door for second floor.

"Naruto, are you o—"

He ran right past Kiba and threw open his door, which was—thankfully—unlocked. He would've let out a sigh if he weren't so out of breath. Sasuke was sitting calmly at his desk, not even turning when the door slammed open. Naruto bent over, his hands on his knees as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Naruto, what's up?" Kiba asked from behind him. He spun around, still trying to catch his breath.

"Nothing." he panted, shaking his head. "Just being stupid."

"Are you okay, though?" He motioned Sasuke and Naruto waved his hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. No problem. I'll talk to you about it later, okay?"

"Uh, okay. If you're sure." Kiba frowned uncertainly. Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"You're like my own personal guard dog, Kiba. You rock."

"I just don't want you to get hurt by any fuckers out there." The brunette's eyes shot to Sasuke, and he saw him tense, but the raven did nothing else. "Come see me later." Kiba left the doorway and Naruto shut the door, resting his head on the wood, steeling himself.

_Okay,_ he thought. _This is it. Nothing to worry about, I already know he likes me. I probably shouldn't have freaked out, but I was confused, and he'll understand that. It'll be fine._

Nodding to himself, Naruto turned back to Sasuke. The raven hadn't moved.

"Sasuke, we need to talk."

"I think we both understand each other." was the clipped reply. "Loud and fucking clear."

"Sasuke, about before, I—" Sasuke suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up, spinning around. Naruto's eyes widened.

_Oh shit. He looks pissed._

"I don't get you, Uzumaki!" Sasuke exclaimed as he came towards Naruto. "I mean, do you-do you not _know_ that certain things shouldn't be done between straight guys?! Like telling me I'm 'not half-bad to look at' or getting back into bed with me when you could've kicked me out or slept on the other bed! These things aren't _normal_ things guys do with one another, not unless they're gay!" He was right in front of Naruto by now, not letting the blond get a word in. "And then all those things I did _afterwards_ that you _didn't_ reject. Before you let it get too far, you should've told me straight up, or at least—" Sasuke was cut off as Naruto grabbed his face and kissed him.

Sasuke froze, his eyes wide, completely confused. What was going on? An hour ago, hadn't Naruto pushed him away? This _was_ the same person, right?

Slowly, Naruto pulled back, staring into Sasuke's dark gaze. "Now that I've shut you up, can we talk?"

"Yeah. Sure. Talk, yes, of course." Sasuke babbled, more than willing to listen now.

"Okay." Naruto said.

"Okay." the raven repeated.

"We're done talking." Naruto informed before clamping his lips hungrily against Sasuke's.

* * *

Sasuke shifted and rolled onto his stomach, trying to force his mind to go back to sleep. He was having the _best_ dream, and he didn't feel like waking up yet.

Reaching out so he could find the wall and curl up against it, he frowned when he felt nothing. He reached on the other side, but that was the end of his bed. What the—

His hand found something. It felt like an arm. Why was there an arm past the threshold of his bed?

Forcing his eyes open and struggling to regain control of his foggy brain, he sat up and realized why he couldn't feel the wall. His bed had been pushed across the room, right up against Naruto's so that their two single beds formed a larger bed. The blond was sleeping against the wall, his back to Sasuke.

_Now why are our beds pushed together?_ Sasuke's foggy brain inquired. _What's going on?_

Naruto let out a breath and rolled over, peeling open blue eyes. He grinned at Sasuke as he stretched.

"Morning." Sasuke just stared at him. "You okay?"

"Am I still dreaming?" Sasuke inquired. Naruto laughed.

"What? Why would you be dreaming?"

Sasuke crossed his arms, staring at the bedspread with a frown. How much of yesterday had been real, and how much of it had been a dream? He remembered the morning, hitting on Naruto, kissing Naruto and having the blond run away...

"It—really happened?" he asked himself.

"What really happened?" The blond asked as he scooted closer to Sasuke, resting his chin on Sasuke's thigh. Sasuke just stared down at him.

"Are we—together?" Naruto's eyes widened and he sat up immediately. _Shit,_ Sasuke thought wincing.

"I-I was—I'm sorry, I just..." Naruto trailed off, looking anywhere but at Sasuke. "I kind of—I thought we were. I'm sorry."

Sasuke's mind snapped into full wakefulness and he remembered everything from the day before. The bad—and the amazingly good.

"No!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto as he started to climb off the bed. "No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that, I was..." He trailed off, shaking his head and chuckling slightly.

"What's so funny?" Naruto snapped angrily.

"Naruto, I didn't mean it like that." He pulled the blond towards him, hugging him. "I thought it was all a dream. Of _course_ we're together. That is, if it's what you want."

Naruto relaxed against Sasuke, wrapping his own arms around the raven. "Yeah, it's what I want."

"Good, cause I wouldn't have taken no for an answer, anyway." He smirked into the blond's neck. His roommate chuckled.

"I love how you make it seem like I have a choice in the matter when I really don't." he teased.

"You're not complaining." Sasuke breathed into his ear, causing him to shiver.

"Did I say I was complaining?" He grinned as he turned his head and bushed his lips against Sasuke's.

That was when there was a slam at their door, both boys turning to it, startled.

"Uchiha! What have you done to Naruto?! He never came to see me! Get the fuck out here!" Kiba hollered.

"Unbe-fucking-lievable." Sasuke muttered. "You're all this guy ever thinks about."

"Nah, I think he just worries about me." Naruto slipped off the bed and opened the door, nearly getting a fist in the face since Kiba had started pounding on it.

"Naruto!" He grabbed the blond's shoulders, looking him up and down. He frowned as he noticed his dishevelled hair and boxers. "Did you just get out of bed?"

"Yeah, why?" Naruto asked, confused.

"It's three in the afternoon."

"Shit, really?" Naruto looked at his watch. Sure enough, it was three. Or, to be exact, three-eleven. "Good thing I didn't have a lab today."

"Yeah, lucky bastard. You did all your lab exams last week, didn't you?" Kiba scratched his head, looking past Naruto. His jaw hit the ground as he saw the two beds pushed together. "Yo-you know?!"

"Know what?" Naruto asked confused.

Sasuke himself enjoyed the brunette's shock. He slipped off the bed, wearing his loose pyjama pants, and headed towards Naruto. He wrapped his arms around the blond from behind, kissing his shoulder lovingly, his eyes locked on Kiba's.

"Sasuke." Naruto shifted embarrassed.

"What, Kiba knows I'm gay." He kissed the blond's temple. "And now, he knows you are, too."

"If you were gay, why didn't you just tell Sasuke instead of always having us save him?" Kiba insisted. "Come to think of it, why didn't you tell _me_?"

"I uh, didn't know until yesterday." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Oh." Kiba frowned. "Interesting. Eh, whatever floats your boat, I guess. Congratulations."

"Uh, thanks." Naruto said. What did one say to a friend when they were congratulated for getting with someone?

"So, have a good rut?"

"We didn't have sex." Naruto blurted out.

"Oh, I know. This one's a screamer." He grinned at Sasuke and the Uchiha glared at him.

Naruto frowned, confused, when something dawned on him. His eyes widened as he turned to look at Sasuke over his shoulder. "Bastard! You weren't having suicidal thoughts at all, were you?!"

"Look on the bright side." Sasuke insisted. "At least you worked up the guts to call me your best friend that night."

"Still!" Naruto insisted, crossing his arms and pouting. Kiba just laughed.

"I'll go tell Shikamaru, Shino and Chouji not to come to your rescue anymore."

"They knew?" Naruto asked, stunned. Kiba just snorted.

"Naruto, _everyone_ knew but you!" he insisted.

"Well shit, thanks. Now I feel _really_ stupid." Naruto mumbled.

"We'll come by at five to get you for dinner. At least try to be dressed by then." the brunette teased as he closed the door.

Sasuke reached forward, locking the door as he continued to kiss Naruto's shoulder, moving up to his neck.

"Sasuke, we should get dressed." Naruto breathed, his eyes closed. _God_, Sasuke was good.

"We should." Sasuke reached his jaw line. "Or we could shower first."

"We're not having sex." the blond insisted, blushing red.

"I said shower, not sex, Naruto. You're not ready for that yet." Naruto cocked an eyebrow.

"You've had sex?"

"I live with Kakashi, who's friends with Genma. Not only are they perverted, but they drive you insane. I _had_ to relieve some tension before I snapped and killed someone."

"Oh." Naruto looked at the floor, a little bummed Sasuke wasn't a virgin.

Sasuke caught Naruto's aura and pulled the blond closer to his chest. "Hey, they were never anything serious." He ran his hands up and down Naruto's arms. "Come on, let's go shower."

* * *

Naruto sank into his chair, leaning down as far as he could without falling off. Sasuke sat down beside him, putting his bag down.

"Last day of classes." Naruto breathed. "Thank _God_ for small miracles."

"We still have exams after this." Sasuke reminded him.

"This is true, but we also have Christmas after exams." He turned to Sasuke. "I think I should invite everyone to my place for a few days. Have a huge party. What do you think?"

"I kind of wanted you all to myself."

"Don't be greedy." Naruto grinned.

Sasuke smirked at him and looked up. His grin faded and his eyes widened. Orochimaru was headed right for him. _Oh shit, _Sasuke thought urgently. He understood why. It was the last day of classes, and probably Orochimaru's last chance to try and make an arrangement with the raven.

Sasuke turned to Naruto, the blond staring at the ceiling. "Naruto, I'm going to do something, and please don't hate me for it." Naruto turned to him, frowning.

Before he could say anything, Sasuke pulled him up slightly and then kissed him. It wasn't a chaste kiss, either. It was a full-blown, honest-to-God, tongue-action kiss. Naruto wasn't pulling away, so Sasuke really saw no need to stop. He just wanted his point to get across to the creepy professor.

Finally, he pulled away, the blond panting. He was holding the front of Sasuke's shirt in his hands. He leaned his forehead against Sasuke's chest, smiling slightly.

"Is he gone?" Naruto inquired. Sasuke tried to glance at the professor inconspicuously. He was fuming angrily, sitting at his desk looking over papers.

"Oh yeah, he's gone." He pulled Naruto's face up again. "Doesn't mean we have to stop."

"This is true, but one more time and Orochimaru might strangle me." Sasuke laughed and nodded, deciding he preferred Naruto alive.

Gaara sat down beside Naruto, leaning back in his chair. The blond frowned.

"Where are Temari and Kankurou?" he inquired.

"They didn't want to come since it's the last day. I only came to hang out with you." Gaara replied.

"Oh, cool." Naruto turned to him more, Sasuke frowning slightly, but he forced himself to ignore it. Naruto and Gaara were _friends_. Sasuke had to accept that Naruto wasn't going to pay attention to him one-hundred-percent of the time.

"Hey, Gaara, I was thinking of having a huge kind of Christmas party thing at my place. I was thinking of starting it maybe on the eighteenth, since it's the last day of exams, and having people stay until the twenty-fourth. You'll all want to go home to your parents for actual Christmas day, so I'll leave it there. Anyone who wants to stay longer can do so. What do you say? Kankurou and Temari can come, too."

Gaara stared at the blond for a moment before facing forward again. Naruto winced, taking this as Gaara declining, when the redhead spoke. "All right. Where shall we meet?"

"We can all meet in the Village. Do you have a car?"

"Temari does."

"All right, so you three are set. Bring it up to the Village on the eighteenth at six with all your stuff, and we'll go from there."

"All right."

"Sweet!" Naruto threw his hands in the air. "I'm so excited." He turned to Sasuke. "You're coming, right?"

"Even if I wasn't invited, I would come." the raven smirked.

"Should we invite Kakashi, or do you think he'll want to spend some _quality time_ with Iruka?" Naruto grinned.

"He might kill us if we try to invite him." Sasuke smirked. "And having me out of the house will _definitely_ make him happy."

* * *

Naruto sat down in Math, happy it was his last time in this class for a little while. He had to take another Math course next semester, and he was going to try and get Ibiki again. In fact, he was going to aim for all the same professors, because they were Kakashi's friends, and it made him feel more comfortable asking them for help if he needed it. Orochimaru was out of the question, though, obviously.

Neji walked in, nodding to Gaara as he passed him before sitting beside Naruto. "Hey, Naruto. How are you?"

"Awesome. Question?"

"Yes?" Neji inquired.

"I'll be seeing Lee and Tenten later, but in case I forget, make sure you pass the message on. I'm having a Christmas party type-thing at my place from the eighteenth to the twenty-fourth, and I'm inviting the three of you to come." Neji cocked an eyebrow.

"That's a lot of overnight visitings."

"Yes, yes it is. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I just thought it would be fun." Naruto shrugged. "If you want to come, just make sure you're at the Village at six on the eighteenth. If any of you have a car, bring it. If not, we'll work something out. Gaara said he and his siblings will come, too."

Neji winced at this, looking at Gaara. "Is Temari going to kill me?"

"She shouldn't." the redhead replied. Neji nodded, looking at Naruto again.

"Sure, I'm willing to come. I don't feel like spending too much time at home. My uncle can be aggravating. He's trying to groom me to be the next head to his business, but I'm not entirely interested." He shrugged. "I guess I'll have to wait and see how it goes. But sure, I'll come. I'll let Tenten and Lee know."

"Awesome." Naruto grinned.

The door opened and Ibiki walked in. He dropped his books on the desk and turned around. His eyes locked on the blond's and he sighed, shaking his head. "You surrendered."

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Please tell me he didn't use Genma's method."

"Eh?" Naruto asked, getting even more confused.

"Kakashi told me what happened on Wednesday. I can't believe it." Ibiki sighed, shaking his head. "You don't know what you got yourself into."

Naruto blushed as he realized the whole class was staring at him. Ibiki was having a personal conversation in a public place.

"Um, can we talk about this some other time?" Naruto mumbled.

"What's the point of hiding it? Genma knows."

"Genma knows?!" Naruto blurted out. "Oh, shit!"

"Yeah, that's what I said before I started laughing." Ibiki smirked as he got behind the desk and sat down in his chair.

* * *

"Ibiki knows." Naruto informed as he sat down beside Sasuke in English class.

"That's fine, as long as—"

"Genma knows."

"No!"

The blond sighed. "Yes."

"No! He doesn't!" Sasuke whined, covering his face with his hands.

"On the bright side—"

"There's a bright side?" Sasuke grumbled. "Genma knows! How is there a bright side?"

"Well, we're about to have the professor who told him." Naruto shrugged. "We can embarrass the hell out of him or something."

"Kakashi doesn't get embarrassed." Sasuke sighed.

"Then we kill him." The blond shrugged before turning around to call Kiba over. The brunette complied, his hands in the pockets of his grey hoodie.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Hey, I'm inviting friends over from the eighteenth to the twenty-fourth. You in?"

"Fuck yeah!" Kiba exclaimed. "Shit, I was worried I'd be trapped in the dorm alone for Christmas. I can't go home, so I was going to have one boring Christmas."

"Well, not anymore." Naruto grinned. "We're going to meet at the Village at six on the eighteenth. Anyone with a car should bring one."

"Sweet. I'll tell the other guys. Can Hinata come?" he whispered the last part.

"Sure. The more the merrier. Tell her that Neji is coming, too, so she can discuss that with her dad."

"Who's Neji?" Kiba asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Her cousin." Naruto laughed. "Don't worry, your property is safe."

"Hey, shut up!" Kiba hit him across the back of the head. "Now that you mention it, I remember meeting him briefly that one night we slept over. Creepy guy." He frowned as he turned and headed back for Hinata, seemingly talking to himself.

"So." Naruto jumped and spun around. Sakura was leaning forward in her chair, smiling at him. "The more the merrier, you say? Ino and I are invited, right?"

Sasuke's fists clenched and he silently begged for the blond to be smart and say no. Of course, he and Naruto hadn't developed telepathy yet.

"Of course you can come." Naruto smiled. "You heard the details?"

"We sure did." Ino replied. "We'll be there."

"Awesome." Naruto spun back around, smiling brightly. He turned to Sasuke and his smile faded as he saw the scowl. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"I might punish you later." Sasuke grumbled, even though his words were meant to be in jest.

Kakashi chose that moment to walk in, probably being the earliest he'd ever been. He sat down at the desk and pulled out his orange novel.

"I have nothing to say to you. It's the last day; if you have questions, ask them. If not, good luck on your exams."

The class was silent before everyone started packing up. Sasuke and Naruto were the only two lagging behind. Once everyone was gone, Naruto flew towards Kakashi, wrapping both hands around the older man's neck and shaking him.

"Genma?!" Naruto demanded. "Why did you tell _Genma_?!"

"He asked?" Kakashi inquired, forcing Naruto's hands away from his neck.

"Are you punishing me?" Sasuke inquired calmly.

"If you're punishing him, why are you punishing me?!" Naruto demanded.

"Calm down, it can't be _that_ bad." Kakashi sighed. He then paused, thinking about this. "Then again, this _is_ Genma..."

"Exactly!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's it! I'm telling him about you and Iruka!" Kakashi paled.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I will!"

"I haven't graded your finals yet, Naruto."

"You can't fail me for that, it's not allowed!"

Sasuke hated his life.

* * *

Naruto let out a defeated sigh as he stood outside his Anatomy class. He and Sasuke had gone back to their room after English and now, here he stood, unprepared to face Genma. But, he had no other choice, so with a sigh, he pushed open the doors and walked in.

He noticed Neji and Tenten near the middle, and walked towards them.

"Hey, Naruto. Neji told me about Christmas. I'm _so_ in. Sounds like fun."

"I'm glad you're willing to come." Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Listen, I'm not going to sit with you today, and you'll be thankful."

"What? Why?" Tenten pouted.

"Just trust me. You'll understand the second Genma shows up." Naruto walked to the very front row, sitting down near the middle. The class was always fairly empty because Genma scared people off, but today, it was particularly empty. Naruto wished he had the guts to skip.

"Naruto!" Even though he knew it was coming, he winced.

Genma ran to him and flew into the seat beside him, grinning hugely.

"So, how was it?" Genma asked excitedly, a glint in his eye.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto tried to play dumb.

"Don't give me that, Kakashi told me all about it." Genma grinned. "Did you guys..." He pressed his elbow into Naruto's arm and winked at him. "Huh? _Huh_? Did you?" The blond blushed furiously, looking anywhere but at his professor.

"N-not that it's any of your d-damn business, but n-no." Naruto sputtered embarrassed.

"Aw, well damn! Now I won't be able to ask how good he is." Genma sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, both hands behind his head. "He's got the whole broody thing going on. I just wondered if he livened up a little bit in bed."

"Not everyone has sex right away, Genma." The professor propelled out of his seat, startled, turning to look at Sasuke.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!" Genma pointed at him.

"Keeping my boyfriend company." Sasuke dropped his bag and sat down beside Naruto, giving him a small smile. "I didn't want to leave you alone to deal with this psycho." He motioned Genma with a jerk of his head.

"Thanks." Naruto grinned. "I owe you."

"I'll just make you keep me company in Geology."

"_**WHAT?!"**_

**

* * *

**

"I don't recall this being part of our deal." Naruto grumbled as he sat in Sasuke's Sociology and Sport class.

"I'll go to Physics with you. Do you _really_ want to face Anko alone?" Sasuke grinned at the blond.

Naruto thought about this for a moment. Genma was crazy. Gai was crazy. Anko was crazy. At least Asuma had always sounded relatively normal—Naruto had never met him—so he was getting the better end of the deal.

"You better come, cause if I sit through Geology with you and you _don't_ come, I'll kick your ass." Naruto crossed his arms.

Sasuke smirked, leaning close to the blond to whisper in his ear. "I'll do more than come for you, Naruto. I'll moan and scream, if you want, too."

Had Naruto been sitting in a normal chair, he would've fallen backwards. Since that was impossible in the chair he currently occupied, he just sputtered and blushed furiously, not looking at Sasuke. The raven decided he liked Naruto embarrassed. He was cute.

"Naruto?" The blond turned as he heard Neji, seeing the other boy walking down the stairs with Gaara. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for Sasuke." The blond's eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said and he blushed furiously again, turning away from Gaara and Neji. The two boys shared a confused look before shrugging and taking their usual seats, chatting.

Asuma walked in soon afterwards, making a beeline for Sasuke as he noticed him already there. "Hey, Sasuke. Who's your friend?" he inquired, motioning Naruto with a jerk of his chin, his hands in his pockets.

"Are you allowed to smoke in here?" Naruto inquired.

"Special permission." Sasuke answered. "Asuma, this is Naruto. Naruto, Asuma."

"Ah, so _you're_ Naruto." He held out his hand, shaking the blond's. "I finally get to meet you. I feel like everyone but me knows you."

"Everyone but you _does_ know him. He came to one of my Geology classes, so Gai met him that way. Everyone else has him in their class." Sasuke explained.

"If Sasuke goes a little crazy on you, just knock him over the head a few times." Asuma told Naruto. "He'll calm down."

"I don't know, he wasn't complaining much last night." Sasuke grinned.

Naruto wondered if it was possible to die from excess blushing.

* * *

"You know, you don't _have_ to come to Physics with me." Naruto insisted as he sat down in Biology. "I can go by myself."

"You're not getting out of coming to Geology with me." Sasuke insisted calmly, taking a seat beside Naruto.

"But he's crazy!" Naruto insisted, grabbing Sasuke's shirtsleeve. "I'll die! Last time, we were just _friends_ and I couldn't _breathe_!"

"You'll live." Sasuke smirked.

"Hey guys." Kiba plopped down beside Naruto, Shikamaru following. "How's it going?"

"Sasuke's trying to kill me." Naruto grumbled. The two boys stared at him, then looked at Sasuke. The raven just shrugged.

"Uh, I don't know, he looks like he's just sitting there to me." Kiba insisted.

"It's what's coming next class that'll kill me." Naruto muttered.

"Naruto." They all looked at Gaara as he appeared beside Sasuke in the aisle. "I won't be staying for this class. I spoke to Kankurou and Temari. They're willing to participate in your Christmas party. We'll see you on the eighteenth."

"Sweet! I'll see you then, Gaara." He waved at the redhead as he left.

Raidou was coming down the stairs as Gaara disappeared and he stopped beside Sasuke, his eyes looking at Kiba and Shikamaru. He then looked at Naruto before looking at Sasuke again, silently asking if they knew. Sasuke merely nodded, and the professor nodded back.

"I'm glad you've found someone." he admitted. "But make sure Genma doesn't find out."

"He already knows." Sasuke informed, Naruto tuning in on the conversation.

"Fuck, you're screwed."

"Don't give him ideas!" Naruto exclaimed urgently. Raidou thought about this for a minute before nodding.

"Right. He'll probably propose a foursome or something. Shit, I don't want to get fired for sleeping with my students!"

"You don't mention it, and we won't." Sasuke said calmly.

"Deal." the scarred man agreed.

* * *

"Why am I doing this again?" Naruto whined.

"'Cause you love me." Sasuke leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "And because you know it'll reap great rewards in the near future."

"They better be pretty damn great." Naruto muttered. Sasuke grinned and put his hand on Naruto's upper thigh. The blond immediately blushed.

"I guarantee it." he whispered in his ear.

"Sasuke! You have brought Naruto!" Sasuke sighed. _And so, it begins..._

"Professor Gai, why are you so excited to see Naruto?" Lee asked, slightly hurt. The older man laughed joyously.

"Oh, Lee, I am thrilled to see you, too! It is just, I am glad that two young men full of love and youth have joined together to become a magnificent bond of strength and beauty!" he hollered, striking a pose.

Sasuke would never say this out loud, but he could've _sworn_ he saw a crashing ocean behind Gai.

Naruto just had his face buried in his hands, muttering something about being punished. Sasuke himself tried not to look _too_ embarrassed. He knew Gai would probably make it worse.

"Are you going to be spending Christmas together?" Gai inquired.

"Oh, professor Gai!" Lee exclaimed, his hand in the air. "Naruto had invited friends to stay with him during Christmas. If I have been invited, surely Sasuke has been, as well."

"Amazing!" Naruto made a grab for his chair as he was pulled from it, but he didn't succeed, and ended up crushed against Gai's chest. "Naruto inviting my star student to his home along with his one true love!" Tears began streaming happily down Gai's face. "It's wonderful to know that youth has not been wasted on the young! The beauty! We must watch the setting sun together!" Gai turned to the window, releasing Naruto and wrapping one arm around his shoulders, motioning outside. "Today, at dusk, we will celebrate this joyous occasion! Everyone will come!"

Sasuke snorted at Gai's choice of words, since one particular one was the reason Naruto had been blushing all day. Naruto sent him a withering glare. Being more practised at it, the raven was unaffected and Naruto just sighed, praying for this class to end quickly. Maybe he could fake having to use the bathroom and pull the fire alarm...

* * *

Anko wasn't as psychotic as the others, but then again, the two boys had just arrived from Gai's class, so it was hard to really compare when faced with Gai's level of insanity. The only thing she'd really done was tell Naruto that this was their last class, and if he ever felt the need to make _sure_ he liked men, he could go see her to see how he felt about women.

Naruto had had to hold Sasuke back to stop him from strangling her.

After Physics, they went back to their room where Sasuke promptly pinned Naruto to the door, devouring his lips. When they broke for air, Naruto laughed.

"You aren't going to be losing me any time soon, Sasuke. Don't worry." He nipped the tip of Sasuke's nose teasingly.

"I know. You just have no idea how frustrating it was seeing you every day and not being able to do this." the raven insisted.

"Do what?" Naruto grinned mischievously. The Uchiha grinned. As if he _needed_ any more prompting than that.

Sasuke proceeded to try and lick the back of Naruto's throat from the front, snarling fiercely into the blond's mouth. Naruto tangled his hands in Sasuke's hair, pulling the raven closer.

The two would've been quite content to continue this when a loud knock sounded at the door—right behind Naruto, to be precise.

"Fuck off!" both boys hollered before devouring each other again.

"A simple 'not hungry' would've sufficed!" Kiba screamed through the door. "You guys can try to maou (1) each other later, come on."

"I'll fucking _kill_ you, Kiba!" Sasuke growled, breaking away only long enough to say those words before clamping his mouth against Naruto's neck. The blond moaned.

"Shit, you're not having _sex_ right now, are you?" Kiba inquired.

"Kiba." Naruto breathed hard as Sasuke continued his ministrations. "If you don't leave right now, Sasuke will hurt you. A lot."

"Yeah, yeah. Ingrate." the brunette muttered. "Try to keep breathing, will you? I at _least_ want to make it to your place before you die."

He walked away without bothering to wait for a reply. He'd either get insulted, or not get one at all. He didn't care so much, anyway. He'd just wanted to make sure Naruto was okay, and by the sounds of it, Naruto was _more_ than okay.

* * *

(1) My muse's crazy word for inhaling food. Love her. I do XD

* * *

**A/N: Everyone keeps asking who the uke and the seme are, so, here's clarification: Sasuke is seme. Why? Because he's more feral than Naruto could ever hope to be. XD**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	16. Perverts and Parties

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: "How much is that doggy in the window? The one with the waggily tail. How much is that doggy in the window? I do hope that doggy's for sale." ... Unfortunately... K. Masashi still won't sell me Kiba... I even offered to throw in the pocket lint, but he said no. :cries:**

* * *

Naruto inhaled deeply as his mind fought for consciousness. He didn't want to wake up just yet, but he still had one exam, and he knew he had to study for it. And it was one of the worst ones, too. Math.

Grumbling, Naruto started to roll onto his back so he could sit up, but the hand around his waist kept him pressed against Sasuke's chest.

"Stay." Sasuke whispered, his voice thick with sleep.

"Bastard, you don't have any exams left."

"It's tomorrow." the raven insisted, rubbing his cheek against the top of Naruto's head. "You have loads of time."

Naruto just sighed. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet, and to be honest, he was more than content to just lay in bed all day with Sasuke. He rested his head more comfortably against Sasuke's shoulder, drawing patterns against Sasuke's smooth skin. It made him feel bad to know he wasn't as smooth for Sasuke.

His scars had been a big problem for him when he was a child. He'd never changed in the PE locker room until everyone was gone, and it had taken him a long time to ignore them and just get on with his life. They were harder to see now, since his skin had darkened as he'd grown older, but they were the kind of scars one could feel if they ran their fingers over them.

Naruto frowned as he heard something snap outside their open window, and he raised his head, frowning at the blinds.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked confused.

Naruto didn't reply; he just narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the folds in the blinds. He saw one of them raise and then lower quickly and he let out a sigh, lying back down on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Genma's there _again_." he informed the raven.

"Fuck!" Sasuke growled angrily. "Get me my gun!" he ordered as he rolled to the side, forcing Naruto to let him go and rest his head on the mattress instead.

"You can't shoot him out of the tree." Naruto sighed, rolling onto his back and stretching.

"Watch me!" Sasuke growled, looking through the pile of clothes on the floor for his gun.

"If you shoot me, I can't grade Naruto's exam!" Genma called from outside, perched in the tree beside their bedroom window with binoculars. "Besides, Kakashi will confiscate the gun if you use it for no reason."

"I _do_ have a reason." the raven exclaimed as he raised the blinds, glaring out at the perverted professor. "You're trying to catch a glimpse of _my_ Naruto _naked_!"

"I'm not naked!" Naruto insisted.

"Territorial there, aren't you, Sasuke?" Genma smirked, ignoring Naruto.

Naruto jumped off the bed, hugging Sasuke from behind and looking at Genma, his chin on the other boy's shoulder.

"If you want to see some _real_ action, Genma, you should head over to Kakashi's." Sasuke's head whipped around to look at the blond. He wouldn't, would he? "After all, Sasuke and I haven't had sex yet, but I can assure you that Kakashi is."

_Apparently, he would,_ Sasuke smirked. Poor Kakashi.

Genma's eyes lit up at Naruto's words, and Sasuke could practically see the pervert in Genma laughing maniacally, a wall of fire erected behind him in the typical bad-guy way.

"Kakashi has a boyfriend?"

"A cute one." Sasuke offered, helping the blond. "They're probably together right now." Both boys blinked, and Genma was gone. "Kakashi's going to kill you." Sasuke informed the blond.

"Perhaps. But he already marked our essays, so what do I care?" He smirked as he kissed the raven's shoulder and pulled away, heading for his desk and falling into his chair, still wearing his boxers. He pulled out his math book and opened it, beginning to read what was written on the page as he picked up a pencil and tapped it against a piece of paper sitting beside the book.

Sasuke went over to him and wrapped his arms around the blond's neck, kissing his cheek. "Come back to bed. You can do this later."

"No, I really can't." Naruto sighed. "You can go back to bed if you want."

"But over there is so cold and lonely." Sasuke said in a pitiful voice. Naruto _almost _gave in. Almost. Luckily, he was saved from giving in by Sasuke's phone ringing.

Sighing, the raven released his blond boy-toy and walked to his shelf, snatching the annoying piece of technology and opening it.

"Sasuke, please tell Naruto I am going to murder him."

"Naruto, you're dead meat." Sasuke said monotonously.

"Payback for telling Genma about Sasuke and I!" the blond yelled, loud enough for Kakashi to hear.

"Sasuke and me." the silver-haired man growled in correction. "Good thing I'm going home for Christmas. Speaking of which, it's why I called. What are your plans for Christmas break?"

"Going to Naruto's." Sasuke replied.

"Are you, now?"

"Yeah, I'm going to molest him as often as possible while we're together."

"You already do." the blond reminded him.

"This is true." Sasuke smirked, leaning back against his cupboard. "Should I not expect to see you until next term, then, Hatake?"

"I arranged for you and Naruto to have me as your professor again. Since I'm lazy, I figured I would be a good professor for the two of you." Kakashi smirked.

"Thanks. Naruto applied for all the same courses as last term, except one level up. Provided he passes all his classes, he's registered with all the same professors again."

"I did the same for you." Sasuke almost fell over.

"What?" he asked darkly.

Naruto shivered as he felt a killer aura surround him. He spun around to see where it was coming from and his eyes widened. Sasuke was pissed.

"I have Gai—again?" the raven asked, looking ready to kill anything in his line of sight. Naruto stood up and shifted slowly to the side so he wasn't in his boyfriend's immediate view.

"Gai loved having you in his class." Kakashi replied evenly. "Besides, aren't you happy you can do horribly and he'll _still_ pass you? Suck it up, Sasuke." The raven heard shuffling for a few seconds, and then Kakashi's voice returned, except he wasn't talking to Sasuke. "Genma, I swear to God, I will shoot your ass!"

"That's what Sasuke said!" Genma's faint voice rang down the line. "Why are the two of you so _violent_?"

Sasuke hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. Another semester of Gai. He was going to go insane. He wasn't sure how much more of the green-clad man he could take before he eventually turned _into_ him! He was already fairly sure Genma was rubbing off on him, because every time he saw Naruto, he wanted to ravish him. Sasuke had _never_ thought about sex so often in his life. _Damn Genma,_ the raven thought annoyed. (1)

"Are you—going to kill me?" Sasuke turned to Naruto, confused, as he heard the blond's timid voice.

"No, of course not. Why would I?" he inquired.

"You look like you want to kill someone and being the only person present, I was kind of scared it was going to be me." Sasuke smirked and padded back to his boyfriend, kissing him on the forehead before wrapping his arms around him.

"No, I can't kill you. I'll lose my toy."

"Toy?" The blond demanded, his eyes narrowed. "Is that all I am to you?"

"Of course not." Sasuke smirked. "You're seventy-percent toy and thirty-percent friend."

"Bastard." Naruto tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but Sasuke held him fast.

"Don't think you can escape me." Sasuke breathed in his ear. "You know you can't." Sasuke ran his hands along Naruto's exposed back and the blond sighed, resting his forehead on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You suck, Uchiha."

"Is that an offer, Uzumaki?" Sasuke smirked.

"Dammit, you're acting like Genma!" Naruto exclaimed. "I swear, the pervert is rubbing off on you."

"The only one I want rubbing off on me is you, Naruto."

"Stop it!" Naruto pushed Sasuke away. "You're so perverted!" The blond covered his ears. "I'm still innocent, don't corrupt me."

"Too late for that." The raven smirked as he plopped down in Naruto's chair. The blond sighed.

"Move, please."

"Why?"

"I need that chair." he replied evenly.

"So what's stopping you?" the raven asked innocently, leaning back in it.

"You're sitting in it."

Before the blond could say anything else, Sasuke had spun him around and forced the blond into his lap. Naruto let out an undignified yelp as he sat down on his boyfriend.

"There." Sasuke breathed as he kissed the blond's neck. "All better."

"And how am I supposed to work?" Naruto inquired, blushing slightly.

"What's stopping you?"

"You're hard!" Naruto accused, blushing even more.

"Well, what do you expect? Your ass _is_ dangerously close to my crotch. The fact that we're both only wearing one layer of clothing isn't helping much, either."

"Sasuke." the blond whined. "I _have_ to study."

"So study." Sasuke insisted, caressing Naruto's stomach with his thumb and kissing just behind his right shoulder.

"Hey guys, want brea—"

"Out!" Sasuke and Naruto hollered, turning to him.

Kiba jumped a mile high, his hand reaching frantically for the doorknob and slamming the door shut. He leaned his back against the door, panting.

"Jesus _Christ_! Lock the fucking door!" he hollered through the door.

"Learn to _knock_!" Naruto retorted.

"I _do_ knock!" the brunette insisted before pushing off the door and walking back towards his room. He passed by Shino's door, the other boy cocking an eyebrow at him as he passed.

"Something the matter, Inuzuka?"

"Shino, I don't know if it's such a good idea to go to Naruto's place for Christmas." The brunette shook his head. "We may see more than we ever wanted to."

In Naruto and Sasuke's room, they were both silently fuming at having the mood broken.

"Stupid Kiba. Always showing up at the worst times." Naruto grumbled. Sasuke just laughed, holding Naruto tighter.

"What do you want for Christmas, Naruto?"

"Nothing. I'm good." the blond replied as he leaned forward, tapping his chin with his pencil. He _had_ to study, and nothing Sasuke did was going to stop him!

Sasuke leaned forward so his lips were right against Naruto's ear. "Do you know what _I_ want for Christmas, Naruto?"

"What?" the blond asked absently as he underlined something in his book.

Sasuke leaned closer so his lips brushed against the shell of Naruto's ear as he spoke. "I want to fuck you in every room in your house." Naruto's pencil dropped as his eyes widened. He blushed scarlet and Sasuke had to admit, he rather enjoyed seeing the back of Naruto's neck turn that particular shade of embarrassed red.

"E-everyone i-is going to b-be there!" Naruto stuttered embarrassed, hastily picking his pencil back up and trying to focus on his book.

"It's a pretty big house." Sasuke insisted, rolling his hips suggestively against Naruto's backside.

The pencil dropped again as Naruto flew from the seat.

"No!" He rounded on his boyfriend. "You've been spending too much time with Genma!" He accused, pointing his finger at Sasuke. "Or you _are_ Genma, disguised as Sasuke!"

The raven sighed. "All right, I'll admit I've been a little... corrupted, but—"

"A little?" the blond interrupted. "What do you _mean_ a little?"

"However!" the raven exclaimed to be heard over the blond's panicked rants. "You have to know that I _do_ plan on having my way with you before the New Year. After all, people are only staying until the twenty-fourth." A glint entered Sasuke's eyes and the blond paled.

"C-can't we wait a bit?" the blond squeaked. He'd found out only about a week ago that he was gay. He'd started dating Sasuke that same day, and he didn't exactly feel comfortable with the idea of having sex right now.

The raven sighed, shaking his head. "I was just teasing, Naruto. Although, it _is_ what I want for Christmas. I guess it's up to you when you give me my present." He smirked.

Naruto shook his head with a sigh. Sasuke was still sitting in his chair. The raven seemed determined to have his way today.

"Should I even bother trying to get back to work?"

"We both know you'll never get around to it." Sasuke smirked as he stood. "Might as well get back in bed."

"Fine, you win this time. But next time, _I'll_ win, even if I have to tie you down." The blond poked Sasuke in the chest before heading for the door and locking it.

"Tie me down, huh?" the raven inquired as he climbed up into bed. "That sounds kind of kinky, Naruto. You're welcome to do so now. Although, I guarantee that with me tied down, you'll be even _less_ inclined to work."

The blond blushed as he realized Sasuke was right.

* * *

Neji, Tenten, Hinata and Lee stood at the village at five-forty on the eighteenth. Lee had borrowed Gai Maito's car for the trip, and Neji was glad his flat-mate and the professor had such a good relationship. Neji had also brought out his own car, he and his cousin going to Naruto's in it. He wouldn't trust anyone else with his baby cousin.

The four of them waited, no one talking to one another. Neji was leaning back against his car with Tenten leaning against him, his arms around her waist. Hinata was reading, and Lee was busy examining all the rocks in the parking lot and shouting out excitedly when he recognized one as being this or that.

A few minutes later, a silver Honda Prelude turned smoothly into the parking lot and stopped beside Neji's car. The longhaired boy winced as he noticed Gaara behind the wheel, Kankurou sitting beside him and Temari glaring at him from the back seat. This was going to be an interesting week.

The redhead exited his sister's car, his siblings following. They walked towards Neji and Gaara nodded to him. The other boy nodded back.

"Hello, Kankurou. Temari. It's been a while." he said politely.

"Hi." Temari replied dryly, turning away from him and crossing her arms. Kankurou just smirked. He was enjoying the tension.

"Hey Gaara." They all turned their heads as they saw a group of four boys heading towards them all, the one who'd called out with his hands in his pockets. "Didn't think you'd be coming."

"Why not?" Gaara questioned Kiba. The brunette shrugged, the four of them reaching the others.

"Hi, Kiba." Hinata said in a small voice, blushing slightly.

"Hey, Hinata. I'm glad you could come." He smiled at her.

"Yes. Neji convinced my father it would be all right. He let me go especially because Neji was going."

Kiba had met Neji once before, when they'd slept over at Hinata's after a house party on Eighteenth and Vine. Neji reminded him of a lollipop—namely, that he had a huge stick shoved up his ass. Then again, Kiba believed it might just have been because he was protective of his cousin.

"Looks like a lot of people are coming." They all turned as Ino and Sakura walked towards them. "This is going to be some huge party." the pink-haired girl commented.

"That it is." Kiba grinned.

"Ms. Sakura!"

"Oh God, please no!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed in horror. Her wish _wasn't_ granted as Lee appeared before her, bowing as he took her hand and kissed it.

"I am so pleased you are able to come to Naruto's house for this festive occasion."

"Lee, dammit, I _told_ you to leave her alone!" Ino exclaimed, pulling her friend away from the green-clad boy and standing between them. "She's not interested, okay!"

They were all distracted by a loud engine and even louder music as a black car screeched into the parking lot, slamming to a halt near the group of people. The driver's door opened and Naruto jumped out, turning around to face the group, his hands raised in the air.

"Party time!" he hollered over his music.

"Naruto!" Ino and Sakura exclaimed happily.

The music cut off abruptly and Naruto frowned. "Hey, I was listening to that!"

"Moron." The passenger side door opened and Sasuke emerged.

"Sasuke!" Ino and Sakura screeched as they ran to him. They'd almost reached him, but he'd re-entered the car and slammed the door before they had a chance to try and attach themselves to him. Naruto held some of their interest now, but they would always have Sasuke as their number one priority.

The blond cleared his throat, trying to hide a smile. He then surveyed the group, counting them, and nodded.

"Excellent. I heard that three of you brought cars. Mine's a two-seater so unfortunately, this is as many people as my car's going to get."

"Can't Sasuke switch with one of us?" Ino motioned herself and Sakura. "We wouldn't want you stuck alone with broody Sasuke." She batted her eyelashes at him.

If one of them ended up with Sasuke in another car, the other would be with Naruto. Even though the blond wasn't the best prize, he sure was a hell of a good second place prize.

Kiba snorted at Ino's comment, a jab in the ribs from Shino the only thing stopping him from outright laughing. It seemed not _everyone_ knew about Sasuke and Naruto.

"No, uh, it's fine. I'm sure I can take him." Naruto struggled to keep his face impassive as Sasuke leaned over and began kissing his stomach, lifting his shirt to run his tongue across the blond's skin. Naruto was going to _kill_ him for taking advantage of the one-way windows!

"Oh, all right, then." Sakura said with a sigh. It looked like neither girl was going to get her way.

"R-right." Naruto dropped one of his arms to push against Sasuke's head, forcing him to back off. The raven wouldn't have it, wrapping his arms around the blond's waist and continuing his ministrations. Naruto was just thankful Genma hadn't corrupted him to the point where Sasuke would pull off the blond's pants then and there.

"So, car arrangements." He closed his eyes, rubbing them furiously to distract himself from Sasuke's tongue on his stomach.

"You okay, Naruto?" Shino asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I'm fine." he snapped, glaring at the other boy. His four friends looked like they were having a hell of a time watching Naruto struggle not to moan. "Car arrangements—you sort them out yourselves! Just honk when you're all ready to go and we can leave." The blond hastily got back in the car, shoving Sasuke away and slamming his door. "Asshole! What the fuck!" He shoved Sasuke again, the raven just smirking.

"You loved it."

"Dammit, not in _public_!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke shut him up by planting his lips on the blond's.

Outside the car, everyone glanced at one another. It was up to them, but not all of them knew one another.

Gaara turned his back on the group, heading back for his sister's car. "We'll take one, but only one."

"I'm in." Shikamaru said lazily, flinging his bag over his shoulder and walking after Gaara. He and Gaara knew each other vaguely from Biology, and he didn't want to be crushed, so he figured, why the hell not?

Gaara got behind the wheel as Shikamaru threw his bag in the trunk, slamming it closed as Kankurou got in the front seat. Temari got in the back and Shikamaru followed her in, all of them buckling up. Gaara honked his horn, to inform one car was ready.

Neji motioned his car next. "Tenten, Hinata and I will be in this car. We'll offer the two seats left to anyone who wants to join us in this car."

"I will." Kiba blurted out hastily.

"As will I." Shino said before Sakura could open her mouth. The girl's jaw dropped. That meant she was stuck with—

"Ms. Sakura! Over here!" Lee waved enthusiastically from his car. She groaned.

Neji and Tenten got in the two front seats, Shino and Kiba getting in on either side of Hinata in the back. Once all of them were buckled in, Neji honked his horn. Two cars down, one to go.

Chouji and Ino took the back and, despite Sakura's struggles, she didn't get to follow. She sat down sighing in the passenger seat, Lee slamming her door and running gleefully around the car. Sakura wouldn't bet on it, but she could've sworn tears of joy were cascading down the boy's cheeks as he ran around the car to get in on the other side. Once they were all ready, Lee also honked his horn.

Sasuke pulled barely an inch away from Naruto, the two of them having been making out while waiting.

"That's three."

"It sure is." Naruto panted, pulling away more and opening his window. They'd fogged up the windows in the car with their heavy breathing. _Shit, were we breathing __**that**__ hard?_ the blond thought, amazed.

He then honked his horn twice, his fist raised in the air outside the window so the others could see, and he turned onto the road to leave, the other three cars following.

The drive there had been enjoyable, everyone in each car making small talk with one another. Temari kept casting glances at Shikamaru as he spoke to Gaara in his bored tone. Kiba and Hinata discreetly held hands behind Neji's back, the older boy pretending not to notice. Lee surprised everyone with acting like a normal human being, talking enthusiastically about all the places he'd visited with Gai on Geological trips.

Sasuke and Naruto were just Sasuke and Naruto—or rather, a Genma clone and Naruto. Most of the trip had been spent with Naruto saying things like, "Sasuke, stop it!" "Christ, not when I'm driving!" "Holy shit, you're going to make me kill us _both_!"

The raven just couldn't keep his hands to himself. It got to the point where Naruto had threatened to leave Sasuke on the side of the highway. Sasuke hadn't believed he would until Naruto had begun to pull over. Promising to wait until they were out of the car, the trip continued more calmly—even though Sasuke was grumbling under his breath.

It wasn't until they neared Naruto's house that he suddenly became aware of a particular feeling in the car. It was so strong it was practically suffocating him. He turned to look at the blond and noticed his hands clenched on the steering wheel, his knuckles practically white.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, concerned. Naruto's jaw was clenched, too. What was wrong?

"I'm fine."

"Liar." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I'm just—a little nervous, is all." the blond muttered, loosening his grip slightly only to tighten it again.

"What are you nervous about?" Sasuke inquired, confused.

"I'm just—I'm scared they'll only be my friends for my money." he blurted out. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Naruto, they're _already_ your friends. You being rich won't sway them." Sasuke insisted, smiling at his boyfriend. He leaned over and gently placed a kiss on Naruto's cheek. "Everything will be fine, I promise."

* * *

"Holy shit!" Kiba hollered as he exited Neji's car, staring up at the house in awe. "_This_ is your house?"

"It's beautiful." Hinata said in her small voice.

"It's _huge_!" Kiba exclaimed, both hands on his head. "I don't believe it!"

Naruto had ignored everyone as they surveyed his house, commenting on its grandeur and beauty. He didn't want to hear such things. He just walked to the door, unlocked it, and walked inside, leaving it open for everyone else to follow. Sasuke went to the door and closed it before rounding on the group as they all got their bags. Naruto had walked in with Sasuke's.

"Guys, I have to tell you all something." he said, a seriousness in his voice none of the others had ever heard before. Everyone froze, turning to look at him. "I don't know why—and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you—but Naruto hates being praised for being rich. He hates comments about it, he hates people bringing it up, and he hates what all of you just did upon seeing his house. While you're here, no matter how amazed you are with what you see, keep it to yourself. You can be excited, but don't freak out." He narrowed his eyes to get his point across. Everyone nodded before returning to their initial tasks.

Satisfied that everyone was aware of what they could and could not talk about, Sasuke turned and entered the house, following his blond boyfriend into the large entrance. He almost walked into said boyfriend when he opened the door, only to find Naruto standing in the middle of the entrance, his back to the door.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked, walking beside the blond. Naruto turned to him, startled, then grinned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just realized I didn't think about the sleeping arrangements."

"Uh, don't you have eighteen spare rooms or something?" Sasuke teased.

"Only ten!" The blond pretended to glare. "I only have thirty rooms in this entire house."

"Including the bathrooms, the dining room, the two dens, the two living rooms, the—"

"Shut up!" Naruto shoved him playfully. "I guess we'll just have to talk to everyone about the rooms and see who wants to bunk with who."

"Sure thing." Sasuke rubbed his arm where Naruto had hit him particularly hard while shoving him. "You have to mention the entertainment room, the game room and the arcade, though. If we _ever_ want to get rid of Kiba, I guarantee that's where he'll be."

"Sasuke, I already told you, we're not doing anything with them in the house." the blond hissed, moving further into the living room.

"Why not?" the raven asked, smirking evilly as he wrapped his arms around the blond's waist.

"Sasuke!" Naruto pulled out of his grasp. "I'm serious. Ino and Sakura will _kill_ me if they ever find out."

"Sasuke!" The Uchiha shuddered as Sakura flew at him from behind, attaching herself to his right arm. "How have you been? It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!"

"He was probably happy, large-forehead."

"Shove it, Ino-pig!"

"Women." Shikamaru sighed, walking into the living room and shaking his head. "So troublesome."

"So, Naruto, how's this going to work? Mass sleepover in the living room? Not much privacy." Temari winked at the blond, grinning evilly. Naruto blushed, clearing his throat and looking away.

"I have ten spare rooms—"

"Ten?" Kiba hollered amazed. An angry glare from Sasuke made him snap his mouth shut. "That's—not that many."

"What I figured is everyone can share a room. Six of the spares have two single beds, and the other four have a double bed. One of you will get to sleep alone."

"That should be Gaara." Kankurou motioned his brother. "He doesn't sleep much, so if he's going to be up all night, he should have his own room so as not to disturb others." The blond nodded.

"All right, Gaara will have his own room. Everyone else can share. I guess the girls can have a shared room, but there's five girls, so..." Naruto trailed off, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to put anyone else alone in a room, because he was scared of showing favouritism.

"I can sleep in the same room as Kankurou." Temari insisted, motioning her brother. "We've shared a room tons of times."

"Okay, so that leaves Ino and Sakura in one room, and Hinata and Tenten in another."

"Sounds good." Tenten wrapped an arm around Hinata. "You can tell me all of Neji's dirty little secrets." She grinned at the pale Hyuuga girl, who blushed furiously.

"Chouji and I can share." Shikamaru motioned himself and Chouji. "Chances are Kiba and Shino will share, too."

"Damn straight." Kiba exclaimed with a grin. "I can piss the hell out of good old Aburame here." Kiba slugged Shino in the arm, and the other boy glared at him.

"That leaves..." Naruto trailed off as he regarded Neji and Lee. Could he _really_ be cruel enough to force Neji to spend six days in the same room as Lee?

"It's fine." Neji insisted, as if he could read Naruto's mind. "I can share with Lee. I've been doing it for a while now."

"Awesome." Naruto grinned. "So we're all set."

"Where's Sasuke staying?" Naruto turned to Sakura as she asked the question, and paled.

"With Naruto." Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We're roommates. It would be weird if I stayed anywhere but with him." He leaned heavily against Naruto and the blond felt sweat trickle down his spine. "Right, Naruto?"

"R-right."

Naruto hastily moved away from Sasuke. He didn't want the girls to murder him. Without a word, he climbed the stairs, motioning for the others to follow him. They did so and he showed all of them to their rooms before giving them a tour of the house.

It had taken a while, especially with a group as large as theirs, to manoeuvre throughout the large domain. Naruto showed them all the rooms that _wouldn't_ hold their attention for long, first. This included the ten spares, the seven bathrooms, Naruto's room, the kitchen, the two living rooms, the two dens, and the dining room.

"What about this room?" Sakura reached for the handle and had the door open only about an inch before Naruto put his hand over hers and closed the door again, a blank look on his face.

"We don't go in this room." he whispered before pulling his hand away. "This was my parents' room."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, Naruto! I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"It's okay." He gave her a huge grin, one that didn't quite reach his eyes, but no one commented any further. "The room over there is off-limits, too. It was my grandmother's room." He motioned the door right beside his own room down the hall.

"Can we get rid of them all, now?" Sasuke sighed impatiently, wanting Naruto to himself for a while, despite the fact that he'd had Naruto all to himself during the car ride.

"Get rid of us? No way, Sasuke-bastard." Kiba grinned, wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulders. "I'm sticking to this one like glue to ensure you don't do anything..." He trailed off, grinning mischievously. "Naughty."

"Eh?" Ino looked back and forth between a fuming Sasuke and a blushing Naruto. "Naughty?"

"He means fighting." Shikamaru said with a sigh, both hands in his pockets. _How troublesome,_ the pony-tailed boy thought, annoyed.

"So, what exactly were you planning on using to get rid of us?" Kiba asked, Naruto still blushing furiously beside him.

"T-this way." Naruto turned quickly and descended the stairs. Sasuke shouldered past Kiba, annoyed, to follow him.

"I say we go to the game room first." Sasuke told the blond. "It'll get rid of the more annoying ones."

Naruto said nothing, merely turning down a corridor to comply with Sasuke's request. He opened the door and stepped inside. "This is the game room."

Just as Sasuke had expected, all of the guy's eyes lit up—except Neji and Gaara, who didn't seem to have any emotions in the first place. He'd been just as surprised when he'd first seen the so-called 'game room'. It had a pool table, a ping-pong table, a Foosball table, and some darts. Why go to bars when you can have it all in the comfort of your own home?

"Sweet!" Kiba hollered, pumping his fists in the air. "Who wants to play pool?" He started running for the pool table when Shino caught him by the back of the shirt.

"Wait until we've seen the whole house." he replied calmly, dragging the other boy out of the room.

"No, wait! You can't! Shino, let go!"

Everyone followed them out, Naruto closing the door behind himself. They continued on to another room called the 'entertainment room'. This room included a huge plasma screen television, complete with cable, VHS, DVD and thousands of movies. They almost lost Kiba in _that_ room, too.

Next, they moved on to the 'arcade', thus called because of all the games. Not only were there normal game consoles like Game Cube, Playstation one and two, N64, and such, there were also arcade games. These included Night of the Living Dead, Dance Dance Revolution, racing games, Gundam games, and various other arcade games. This time, they almost lost more than just Kiba. Even Gaara had let loose to approach one of the shooting games, as if eager to get a gun in his hand and start killing things. Naruto had to admit, he'd been a little scared.

Their final stop—and the last room—wasn't so much a room as a large, open area. It had a large indoor pool, complete with slide, a hot tub, and a sauna. Sasuke predicted this would be the girl's place to adore, and he was right. All five of them began talking quickly about going to change.

Naruto told them to go ahead and do what they wanted. He'd never seen people disappear so fast. Turning to Sasuke, he let out a small laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Guess they're more excited than you were." Naruto commented.

"I was excited when I saw all this stuff." the raven insisted, his hands in his pockets. "But when we came here, it was for a pretty dreary event. I wasn't going to go crazy and run around like a maniac when I'd come for moral support."

Naruto smiled genuinely before hugging Sasuke. "Thanks, Sasuke."

"No problem. Come on, let's head up to your room." He grabbed the blond's hand and began dragging him towards the stairs.

"Eh? Why?" Naruto asked, confused. Sasuke didn't answer because Kiba ran by.

"Yo, Naruto, where's the game room again?"

"Huh? Oh, that way."

"Thanks." He disappeared, only to be replaced by the five girls.

"The pool is this way, right?" Tenten asked as they rushed past him.

"Uh, yeah." Naruto replied, his head beginning to spin from everyone rushing by him.

"Naruto, kitchen is this way, right?" Chouji rushed past him with food in his arms. Naruto realized he'd brought some of his own stuff and was going to store it in the fridge.

"No, it's that way."

"Thanks."

Naruto shook his head, clutching it with his free hand and moaning. "Man, I never knew the house could be so chaotic." Sasuke just chuckled.

"Never had a huge group of people here before?" he asked as they reached the top of the stairs and he finally released the blond's hand.

"Never had anyone to invite before." Naruto admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking towards his room. He opened his door to head inside, turning to ask Sasuke something, when he found himself unable to speak.

Sasuke kissed Naruto softly, turning him around and wrapping his arms around the blond's waist. He walked forward, forcing the blond backwards until they'd entered his room, Sasuke kicking the door shut behind them. He manoeuvred the blond towards the bed, breaking away from the kiss to suck at Naruto's pulse, the blond panting, his hands tangled in raven locks.

"S-Sasuke. We can't." he panted, despite tilting his head back to expose more of his neck to Sasuke's torturous tongue.

"We can." Sasuke insisted as he kissed his way along Naruto's jaw. "They're all busy doing something or another. They won't even notice we're gone."

He pushed the blond backwards, and Naruto let out a yelp as he fell onto his bed, Sasuke falling on top of him. Sasuke didn't give Naruto time to protest, locking his lips hungrily with the blond's. Naruto moaned into the kiss. Or maybe it was Sasuke. Might have even been both of them.

Sasuke wanted to feel skin. He wanted to take Naruto right then and there, but he knew the blond wasn't comfortable enough yet. For now, he would go as far as he was allowed to go. If he didn't, he was going to go insane.

Slowly, Sasuke ran his hands down the blond's sides, bringing them back up with his thumbs looped under the orange shirt so it slid up. Sasuke broke the kiss to pull the shirt off, the blond not protesting the action at all. Sasuke reattached himself to Naruto's neck, sucking hard enough to leave marks. He wasn't going to let Naruto out of this room without staking his claim on him.

"Sa-Sasuke..." Naruto panted, tugging Sasuke's shirt up and then pulling it off, forcing the raven to let go of Naruto's neck. He returned seconds later, darkening the bruise that had already begun to form there.

Slowly, Sasuke began to grind his pelvis into Naruto's, the blond letting out breathy pants each time their clothed erections came into contact.

"Fuck, Sasuke..." the blond panted, burying his hands in Sasuke's hair, his head tilted back. Slowly, Sasuke ran his hands down Naruto's exposed chest, shifting his lips to another spot on the blond's neck. His hands reached Naruto's pants, and he slowly unbuttoned them before slipping the zipper down.

"Sasuke, wait." Naruto insisted, panting slightly as he tried to push the other boy off.

Sasuke pulled away from Naruto's neck to reposition his lips beside the blond's ear. "Sh. I know your boundaries, and I won't cross them. Just let it happen." He licked the shell of Naruto's ear as his hand reached into the blond's pants.

* * *

"This place is _huge_, fuck." Kiba grumbled as he opened a door and looked inside. "How the heck are we supposed to find him when we need him? We need a leash for him, or something."

"You're the guard dog, aren't you? Why would _he_ need the leash?"

Sometimes, Kiba really hated Shikamaru.

Sighing, the brunette shook his head as he and the lazy boy trudged down the corridor to the next room. They stopped outside the door and heard Naruto moaning inside. Kiba being Kiba, he didn't stop to think about what this could mean. Grabbing the doorknob, the brunette opened the door and entered the room.

"Hey Naruto, where—" He didn't even wait for them to holler at him. He let out an inhuman shriek as he bolted from the room.

Shikamaru calmly took his hand out of his pocket and closed the door, calling a "we'll come back later" to the two boys inside the room.

"_**Why do I always show up at the worst times?"**_ Kiba hollered down the corridor, practically ripping his hair out. Shikamaru just sighed, shaking his head as he walked back towards the brunette. (2)

"So troublesome."

"Troublesome?" Kiba hollered. "I should write a damn _book_ or something! Pranks happen, and I show up! They're beating the shit out of each other, and I show up! They're making out, and I show up! They're doing—_that_, and I _fucking show up_!" The brunette threw his hands in the air in defeat. "I give up! I may as well take up residence in their room and glue my eyes open!"

"Uh, Kiba?" The brunette spun around startled, faced with Hinata in a towel. She was slightly wet, as if she'd just emerged from the pool and come into the house to get something.

"Hinata. Hey." Kiba laughed slightly, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Um, Sakura and Ino don't know." Kiba and Shikamaru stared at her, confused. "E-everyone knows about-about Naruto and S-Sasuke." she stuttered, her cheeks turning pink. "The only people who d-don't know are Ino and S-Sakura. Th-they keep talking about who will get Naruto, and who will get Sasuke."

"Oh." was Kiba's intelligent reply. Shikamaru hit him across the back of the head.

"She _means_ that you should shut your yapper and let _them_ inform the two girls that they're dating. You hollering it around the house isn't keeping it much of a secret."

"I know what she meant!" Kiba insisted, blushing slightly at _not_ having understood the shy girl's comment. "I'll calm down. But I swear, I walk in on them one more ti—"

"_**Sasuke!" **_

"That's it!" Kiba hollered, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm going out to buy earplugs! Someone tell Naruto I'm taking his car!"

* * *

(1) To learn about why Sasuke is being corrupted by Genma, please refer to my one-shot "The Devil's Army". It explains everything. Similarly, if you would ALSO like to know what exactly Genma witnessed after Naruto sent him off to Kakashi's, please refer to my one-shot "A Man Named Genma".  
(2)Heh, I wrote another one-shot entitled "Worst Timing" because I realized Kiba always shows up at the worst time. Check it out, if you want.

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* * *

A/N: I have to say it... I have Naruto wanting to study for his exams, yet here I sit... still not having studied much for my exams... Instead, I am typing this fanfic... WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? T.T**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	17. A Jar of Clouds

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: I asked K. Masashi for Neji, because I thought maybe he just had an affinity for Kiba, but he **_**still**_** said no. So, I'm going back to Kiba. **

**A/N: Warning- EXTREME SAP! I couldn't help it! It had to be done!**

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* * *

**

Naruto and Sasuke walked into the entertainment room, everyone seated in front of the television, watching some movie or another.

"_There_ you are!" Ino exclaimed with a bright smile. "Where have you both been?"

"We went to get some food." Sasuke replied.

It was the truth. They'd been absent for two hours, and even though they'd been making out for more than half that time, they _had_ gone to get food.

"We have two choices for dinner." Naruto piped up. "We can order something, or we can make something."

"Pizza!" Kiba and Kankurou hollered as one, their fists in the air. They both laughed and high-fived.

_Dear God, Kiba and Kankurou have discovered they share the same sense of humour,_ Sasuke thought with a sigh. _This is going to suck._

"Okay, two votes for pizza. Is everyone cool with that?" Naruto inquired.

Everyone was fine, the only fierce opposition coming from Ino and Sakura, who didn't want to get fat. Kiba and Kankurou proceeded to flatter them about their weight and how beautiful they were, and the fact that both could use a little more meat on their bones. The girls finally caved.

After figuring out what kinds of pizza to get, Naruto left to make the order, Sasuke following him to stay far, far away from Ino and Sakura.

They returned a while later to join the others while they waited for their order. Just as Sasuke had predicted, Ino and Sakura attached themselves to him. _They're like leeches!_ Sasuke winced, looking at Naruto to be saved. The blond seemed to be enjoying Sasuke's predicament. _Two can play this game,_ Sasuke thought with a smirk.

"Hey, girls, did you know Naruto has a cool tattoo?"

"Eh?" Sakura asked as she looked at Naruto, the blond having gone pale. He shot Sasuke a clear "what the fuck are you doing?!" look, but Sasuke just ignored it.

"Oh yeah, it's a cool tattoo. You have to take off his shirt to see it, though."

"Really?" Sakura was confused. "We've seen him shirtless before. At the party."

"It was too dark to see _anything_." Ino rolled her eyes. "We probably missed it."

"Well, loads of light now." Sasuke grinned at a worried Naruto.

"You up for the challenge, large-forehead?" Ino smirked.

"You got it, Ino-pig."

Sasuke had never been released so quickly. Naruto never stood a chance. The two girls landed on him, and despite his struggles, they managed to pull off his hoodie and began trying to take off his shirt.

The raven narrowed his eyes as the blond tried to fend the two girls off, both of them running their hands up and down his torso. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. _Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more. They were touching _his_ Naruto!

Suddenly, Sakura leaned back, staring at Naruto's neck with a frown, "Naruto, is that—is that a _hickey_?!"

The room went dead silent, everyone who'd been focused on the television turning to look at the two girls practically sitting on Naruto.

"_It was you, wasn't it?!"_ Ino and Sakura both hollered as they jumped to their feet, pointing at each other. Upon realizing both had said the same thing, they frowned. "Huh?"

Naruto began inching backwards, wincing at the rug-burns he was going to get on his elbows. Sasuke went to join the blond, crouching down beside him.

"You suck." Naruto hissed as Ino and Sakura continued to stare at one another, confused.

"You offering? 'Cause I wouldn't mind going even further."

"I hate you." Naruto muttered.

"So, wait." The two boys looked at Ino as she spoke to Sakura. "If _you_ didn't do it, and _I_ didn't do it—who did?"

Both girls slowly turned to look at Hinata. The pale girl's eyes widened.

"D-don't look a-at m-me! I-I was w-with K-Kiba!" she stuttered, blushing red.

Ino and Sakura turned to Tenten.

"Dating Neji." the raven girl reminded.

They finally looked at Temari, who smirked. "Naruto is yummy, I'll give him that, but I've got my eye on someone else." She glanced at Shikamaru, who either didn't notice, or ignored the look.

"Well, if none of _you_ did it, and _we_ didn't do it, then who did?"

"I did."

There was utter silence now, everyone staring at the two girls, whose jaws were sweeping the ground.

"If you don't believe me," Sasuke shifted so he was behind Naruto, reaching forward to tilt the blond's head so his neck was exposed, "I can give him another one right now."

In all honesty, having his head forced back like that to expose his neck made Naruto feel like Sasuke was a vampire. He jumped a mile high as Sasuke clamped his teeth on Naruto's pulse, sucking hard.

The blond's eyes were wide as they swivelled to survey the two girls. Sakura had closed her mouth and was staring at the floor, her gaze intense enough to have set the carpet on fire. Ino had plopped down on the couch beside Chouji, silently fuming.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Naruto hollered, pulling away from Sasuke and bolting towards the door. Anything to get away from the two girls who were most likely going to tear him to pieces.

* * *

"I don't know about this." Sakura insisted as the whole group of them stood outside a large house. It wasn't nearly as big as Naruto's, but it was still fairly large. "I'll probably get in trouble."

"Me too." Ino muttered.

"Neji?" The pale boy turned to his shy cousin. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"You need to start doing what you want and not worry about your father, Hinata." her cousin insisted. "If you want to do this, then I think you should. I know I want to."

"Really? You'll do it, too?" Hinata asked, her grey eyes wide. Neji smirked at her.

"Okay! People!" Naruto clapped his hands. "Are you all ready?"

"I'm so psyched!" Kiba hollered.

"Yeah! This is gonna rock!" Kankurou and Kiba high-fived.

"Okay. Let's go." Naruto banged on the door and it opened a few seconds later.

"Brat!"

"Tazuna!" The old man laughed, patting Naruto on the shoulder.

"How you doing? How's the tattoo?" Without waiting for a reply, he lifted the blond's shirt to survey the tattoo.

"I got it years ago, old man, why wouldn't it be fine?" Naruto forced his shirt back down.

"It was my best work." Tazuna insisted. "What can I do you for today?"

"We'd all like tattoos." Naruto grinned.

"Eh? All of you?" He surveyed the large group and smirked. "Aren't you worried they'll all run away crying?"

"Hey, we ain't running away, old man!" Kiba hollered, pointing his finger at Tazuna.

"Yeah! Bring it on!" Kankurou agreed.

Tazuna grinned, walking up to the two boys. "You know," he smirked, pushing his glasses further up his nose, "they say the dogs who bark the loudest are also the first ones to run away whimpering." Kiba and Kankurou paled.

"What am I, an anomaly, then?" Naruto smirked from beside the door.

"You talked too much to notice anything was happening." Tazuna sighed as he entered the house, motioning them in. "Tsunami, Zabuza, look who I found."

"Oh, Naruto. Haven't seen you in a while. Welcome back." Tsunami smiled at him as she wiped down a reclining dentist-like chair.

Tazuna owned a tattoo parlour that he operated from on the ground floor of his house, his daughter and grandson living with him on the upper level. His daughter's childhood friend, Zabuza, lived in the bedroom above the garage. All three adults worked at the parlour while Tazuna's grandson, Inari, usually came to serve drinks and laugh at the people crying.

"Where's the twerp?" Naruto asked, flopping down on one of the many couches. Everyone else stayed standing.

"Out with friends." Tsunami replied.

"Came back for another round?" Zabuza smirked. "You going to be man enough to let me tattoo you this time?" Everyone but Gaara, Neji and Sasuke cowered slightly as the man grinned, noting all of his teeth had been sharpened to a point.

The blond shrugged. "Sure. Twelve of us were going to get the same thing, cause all of us have at least one class together."

"Well, that's no fun." Zabuza sighed. "What do you want?"

"I was thinking of showing them the one I wanted last time, and see if they're game."

Tsunami walked towards them, flipping through a book. "It was the double swirl, right? Or was it the one that looks like a leaf?"

"No, the double swirl. The one I wanted to get on my left arm." (1)

"Ah, here it is." She turned the book and held it out to show them all.

"That's cool." Ino commented. "I like it."

"I wouldn't mind having that on my arm." Chouji agreed.

"Tch. So troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "All that pain for something so small."

"Come on, Shikamaru. It's my Christmas gift to all of you guys." Naruto insisted.

"You paying, brat?" Tazuna asked.

"Course." He flashed the old man a grin. "Whatever they want, let them have it."

"Right. We'll start with the twelve who want this one. Who's getting it?"

"Everyone but those three." Sasuke motioned Gaara, Kankurou and Temari. "They want something else."

"All right!" Zabuza grinned, wielding his equipment. "Who's first?"

"I'll go first." Naruto stood up lazily from the couch, rolling up his sleeve as he plopped down in Zabuza's chair. "Giv'er."

The three tattoo artists went through the twelve of them one at a time. Hinata held Kiba's hand while she was getting hers done, but Tsunami tried to be as nice as possible since the girl was so nervous.

Zabuza showed no mercy, not that anyone was expecting any. Naruto was used to pain, so it didn't bother him so much. Sasuke grunted once but did nothing else. Kiba was practically drawing blood as he bit the inside of his cheek to stop from whimpering. Chouji had just squirmed.

Tsunami had tattooed the four girls, going the easiest on Hinata. Tenten had seemed to take pain pretty well, so Tsunami had just gone at her normal pace with her. She went the hardest on Ino and Sakura, because they were so annoying.

Tazuna had gotten Lee, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino, all of whom had taken the tattooing fairly well.

"All right. What about you three?" Tazuna motioned Kankurou, Gaara and Temari.

"The three of us want the Japanese Kanji for 'wind' on our left arms." Kankurou told him.

"That it?" Tazuna inquired.

Gaara turned to Naruto. "Anything we want?"

"Knock yourself out." Naruto agreed. Gaara turned back to Tazuna.

"I would also like the Japanese Kanji for 'sand' on my right arm, and the Kanji for 'love' on my forehead."

There was silence.

"On your forehead?" Tazuna asked, amazed.

"Yes. In red, on the left side."

"I would also like a tattoo on my forehead." They turned to Neji. "A green one. I saw it earlier as I was flipping through the book." He picked it up, flipping the pages and motioned a symbol that would go all across his forehead. "This one."

"If you guys are going to do that crazy shit, count me in!" Kiba grabbed the book from Neji, flipping through it until he found what looked like a large fang. He motioned it, holding the book out towards Tsunami. "I want this in red, on either cheek." (2)

"Damn, brat, you've got some pretty gutsy friends." Tazuna smirked as he motioned the triplets forward.

Gaara sat with his arms crossed and his face impassive the whole time Zabuza tattooed him. Tazuna had done Kankurou and then called Neji forth to work on him. Tsunami had done Temari before motioning for Kiba to come over.

About two hours later, everyone was tattooed and bandaged, Naruto paying for all their tattoos.

"Make sure you're careful for a while." Tazuna reminded the blond. "I don't want to get in trouble because you brats were irresponsible."

"Yeah, yeah. See you, old man!" Naruto waved as they all piled back into the cars.

Naruto slammed his door and started the car when Sasuke leaned over, turning the blond's head and kissing his lips softly.

"Thanks for the present, Naruto."

"No problem." Naruto grinned.

"I can't wait until the twenty-fourth." Sasuke murmured, kissing his way along Naruto's jaw. "I'll get you all to myself."

"Only four more days." Naruto insisted, closing his eyes and relishing the feel of Sasuke's lips on his skin.

"That's too long." the raven whispered in his ear.

Both boys jumped as a horn sounded loudly behind them, followed by a shout from Kiba. "Hurry up! You can make out at home!"

Sasuke growled. "I hate that fucking dog of yours."

"You'll learn to get used to him." Naruto teased as he pulled onto the street and headed home, the three other cars following.

* * *

Sasuke exhaled slowly as he rolled over, frowning as his hand reached out for Naruto and found nothing. The raven peeled open his eyes, seeing no one there. He ran his hand over the spot the blond usually occupied and felt nothing. There was no heat to suggest Naruto had recently left, which meant he'd been gone for a while. With Naruto in mind, Sasuke got out of bed to search for him.

It was Christmas day, and everyone had left the day before. Sasuke was glad. It had been a lot of fun—especially when the girls had calmed down after their discovery—but Sasuke really wanted Naruto to himself. As selfish as that sounded, it was what he wanted.

The day before had been really fun, even by Sasuke's standards. They'd all exchanged various gifts and hung out until everyone had to leave. Naruto had seemed upset, but everyone had promised to return for a huge party. Kiba suggested they throw one every weekend. Sasuke had corrected that they could have one at the end of the school year. Kiba hadn't argued it when he'd seen the look in Sasuke's eyes.

Stretching, Sasuke padded out of the room and down the corridor, headed for the stairs. He went to the front to see if Naruto's car was gone to suggest he'd gone out to buy something, but it was still sitting peacefully out front. However, the front door _was_ unlocked. Sasuke hated it when the front door was unlocked, even if everyone was in the house. He reached out and locked it before heading for the kitchen, his next best bet for finding Naruto.

_I should get a tracking device or something,_ Sasuke mused as he crossed the living room. _This place is so freaking huge. He should get intercoms. How the hell did anyone __**ever**__ find him in this place? _Sasuke began to imagine a hyperactive baby Naruto, running around the house, laughing merrily. His grandmother must've gone insane always trying to find him.

Sasuke smirked as he pushed open the kitchen door—and froze. His eyes zeroed in on the red liquid on the white tile, leading all the way to the table where Naruto sat in a chair, his head on the table and his arms on either side of his head.

Sasuke couldn't move. He couldn't _breathe_! What the fuck had happened? _Oh, God, was it Itachi? Did he do this? Why attack Naruto? _

_Move! _his inner self commanded angrily. _Make sure he's okay!_

"Naruto!" Sasuke ran to him and leaned down, only to jerk back as he almost collided with the back of Naruto's head as the blond raised it.

"What?" He looked up at Sasuke, confused, his eyes still half-closed. He'd been—asleep? "Sasuke? What's up?" The blond rubbed his eyes before leaning back in the chair, stretching. Sasuke could only stare at him.

Upon not receiving a reply, Naruto looked at Sasuke and noticed how much paler than usual he was. He also noticed Sasuke's eyes showed a hint of fear beneath their obvious relief.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Sasuke didn't reply. He instead bent down in front of Naruto and hugged him tightly. Naruto was stunned, but he hugged the raven back nonetheless.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, his voice muffled due to his face being buried in Naruto's shoulder.

"What?" Naruto frowned.

"Why is there red stuff on the floor?"

"I was making breakfast. I got some strawberries, but the bag was leaking as I headed for the table. I was going to clean it up, but I had a headache so I put my head down for a few seconds. I must have fallen asleep."

Sasuke pulled away from Naruto and looked at the liquid on the floor. Now that his mind wasn't in panic mode, he could tell that it wasn't blood. He looked at the table and noticed the grocery bags still sitting there. Naruto laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"You weren't supposed to wake up yet. I was going to make you breakfast as a Christmas present, but I guess it can't be helped now." He lightly kissed Sasuke's cheek. "Merry Christmas."

He began to stand when Sasuke grabbed his hand, pulling him back down. "You call _that_ a Christmas kiss? I think not."

"Dammit, I knew you and Genma spen—" Naruto was cut off as Sasuke's lips crushed against his, the raven's tongue demanding entrance. Naruto granted his request, opening his mouth to allow Sasuke's forceful tongue admittance. Sasuke's taste flooded Naruto's mouth and he moaned, burying his hands in Sasuke's raven hair.

The two continued to make out until Naruto's phone rang. Naruto pulled away from Sasuke—despite the raven's struggles and his insistence that they let it ring—and padded towards the phone, picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Merry Christmas, Naruto." Tsunade's voice rang out down the line.

"Hey, old hag. Merry Christmas."

"How has your break been?"

"It's been good." Naruto nodded, even though he knew Tsunade couldn't see him. "I had a bunch of friends over for a while. They all left yesterday."

"Are you alone?" Tsunade asked, shocked. "If I'd known, I would've come down with you. You're welcome to come up here if you want. Jiraiya and I would love to have you for Christmas."

"Oh, no." Naruto smiled. "It's okay. I'm not alone. Sasuke stayed."

"Oh, _Sasuke_, huh?" Tsunade teased.

"What are you, four?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Hey, don't be cocky." Tsunade insisted. "Merry Christmas, brat. Make the best of your time at home."

"Yeah, yeah. Merry Christmas, old hag. Tell the pervert I say the same."

"Naruto says 'Merry Christmas, pervert'." Tsunade informed her brother.

"Don't call me that!" Jiraiya insisted as Naruto laughed and hung up. He turned around to look at Sasuke, who was busy rooting around in the bag on the table.

"Hey, hey! Nosy prick!" Naruto grabbed the bag, holding it behind his back. "Aren't _we_ impatient!"

"Chocolate sauce, whipped cream, strawberries." Sasuke smirked. "Am I having _you_ for breakfast?" Naruto blushed, turning away.

"No, bastard, we're having waffles." Sasuke came up to Naruto, wrapping his arms around the blond's waist.

"But you would taste so much better." he purred in Naruto's ear.

"Call Kakashi to wish him a Merry Christmas, you pervert." Naruto pushed Sasuke away with one hand, the raven reluctantly letting him go.

As Naruto busied himself making the waffles, Sasuke headed to the phone, took a deep, annoyed breath, and picked it up, dialling Kakashi's number. The older man answered the phone after two rings, panting heavily down the line.

"Hello?" he asked breathlessly. Sasuke screwed up his face in disgust.

"Who answers the phone in the middle of sex?!" he demanded incredulously. _Only Kakashi,_ he thought with a sigh.

"Who says I'm, uhn..." Kakashi breathed harder. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "Having sex?"

"I know you're not out of breath from jogging, you're too lazy." Sasuke sighed. "Merry Christmas, I'm glad you finally got laid." He hung up the phone and turned to Naruto, who'd frozen as he heard Sasuke's question.

"Was he—really?"

"That's Kakashi for you." Sasuke sighed, scratching the back of his head. "That was something I could've lived happily without. Kind of regret getting him and Iruka together, now."

"Personally, I'm starting to hate the advice Iruka keeps trying to give me. I hate it even more when he starts talking about Kakashi." Naruto turned to Sasuke and began to imitate Iruka. "'Kakashi _loves_ it when you suck on his neck _just there_. I know Sasuke's not his son, but maybe you should try it. Oh, and it's always better to give a blowjob with your partner standing up, because then you get the satisfaction of knowing you're the only thing keeping your partner standing, and you feel more in control' and blah, blah, blah." He rolled his eyes before turning back to the waffle batter he'd started making.

"Iruka really told you all of that?" Sasuke asked, amazed, not pegging their karate instructor to be that open.

"Among other things, which I choose not to repeat." Naruto stated.

The two boys had their breakfast, laughing and throwing whipped cream at each other. Naruto quickly realized this was a bad idea because it gave Sasuke a reason to molest him.

"I'm cleaning you, you should be grateful!" the raven had insisted.

Naruto wouldn't have minded being cleaned; he just didn't know how much good Sasuke's _tongue_ was at really cleaning. He was mostly just spreading the whipped cream around before sucking it off the tanned skin.

They'd then spent most of the day sitting in front of the television before Sasuke had started a make-out session. Three movies had gone by and they'd only watched about two minutes of the first one. Naruto blamed Sasuke. Sasuke insisted the blond loved it.

It wasn't until after dinner that they'd decided to exchange gifts. Naruto got a real kick out of the gifts he was going to give Sasuke, and had insisted the raven open his first.

"Why am I a little scared?" Sasuke asked as he unwrapped his first one. "You're not restarting our prank war, are you?"

"No, but that would be a good idea." The blond grinned. Sasuke just sighed, shaking his head as he pulled off the wrapping. He cocked an eyebrow as he pulled out an orange shirt, staring at it.

"I thought you needed more colour in your wardrobe." Naruto teased. "Besides, I know you love my orange shirt."

"If I wanted an orange shirt, I'd just steal yours." Sasuke teased back before kissing Naruto's cheek. "Thanks. I'll be sure to wear it on a day you're wearing yours so it looks like we match."

"Bastard." Naruto shoved him slightly. Sasuke just smirked, reaching for his next one. It was a card, and upon opening it, a gift certificate fell out.

"Cool. Music certificate." He scanned the small card-like certificate.

"I'm still not sure what kind of music you like. I thought I'd play it safe and give you an HMV voucher."

"How much is there on this?" Sasuke asked, looking for a place where it said. Naruto didn't reply, making the raven give him a look. "Naruto."

"Two-hundred dollars." The blond scratched the back of his head.

"Two—Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Why would you give me two-hundred dollars for CDs?!"

"CDs are expensive nowadays!" Naruto insisted. "Don't argue with me, just take it, okay." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head as he put the card down and pushed his three presents to Naruto over to the blond. "You got me three. Now I feel bad, I only got you two."

"You got me the tattoo, as well. That's three."

"Oh, right." The blond smiled as he pulled the first one to him and unwrapped it. He let out a schoolgirl squeal that Sasuke winced at before pulling out the large fox plushie and hugging it.

"You like it?" Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the way Naruto was acting. He was like a little kid.

"I love it! Thanks, Sasuke!" He threw his arms around Sasuke's neck, hugging him tightly before pulling back and reaching for another present. Sasuke pulled the one he'd been reaching for away.

"Open that one last."

"Okay." The blond shrugged, pulling his second one to himself and unwrapping it. He burst out laughing as he saw the boxers. They had little foxes all over them, each one with a bubble saying 'foxy'.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like that." Sasuke smirked. "When I saw your boxers during the Scavenger Hunt, I figured you'd appreciate these."

"Thanks, Sasuke. These rock." He put them aside and held out both hands for his last present. Sasuke handed it to him and Naruto proceeded to tear the wrapping off.

At first, he was confused as he pulled it out of the wrapping. It was nothing more than an ordinary jar filled with cotton balls. He noticed Sasuke had written something on the lid and he couldn't help but smile when he read it.

'A Jar full of Clouds.'

"I know it's stupid," Sasuke muttered, looking away with a faint blush on his cheeks, "but it was my most precious memory. I thought I should share it with you."

He turned back to Naruto when he didn't receive a reply, and frowned as the blond opened the jar and pulled out all the cotton balls. He then began to count them, putting them back in one by one. There were about six left before he closed the jar again and put the remaining cotton balls with the wrapping paper to throw away. Blushing insanely and avoiding Sasuke's gaze, he explained his actions.

"Including every room in this house—meaning the bathrooms, the kitchen and such—I have thirty rooms. I put that many cotton balls in this jar." His blush intensified. "Every time we—do it in one of the rooms, we'll tape a cotton ball to the doorknob. That way, we won't do the same room twice."

Sasuke smiled, pulling Naruto to him—who still refused to meet his eye—and kissing his cheek before burying his face in the juncture between Naruto's neck and shoulder.

"Yeah. Cause that'd be a _real_ shame."

"We're not doing it now." the blond clarified.

"Whenever you're ready."

"Merry Christmas, Sasuke."

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

(1) The ANBU tattoo. I debated between the Konoha Leaf symbol and the ANBU symbol, but I eventually decided the ANBU tattoo was cooler.

(2) Obviously, the wind tattoos on the triplets is because they come from the Wind Country. **SPOILER FOR PEOPLE WHO ONLY WATCH THE ANIME! SKIP THE ITALICS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE MANGA!** _The sand tattoo for Gaara is cause he's Kazekage._

The love symbol on his forehead is obvious, because this is Gaara. As for Neji, in case some of you didn't get it (not insulting you, just making sure it's clear) it's the symbol that was put on his head by Hinata's dad in the manga/anime. The one where they can control something or other—you know, I never really got that. Just know it's the green submission type symbol on Neji's forehead. As for Kiba, he _is_ an Inuzuka, lol. My muse said she would freak out if she saw someone turn the corner with tattoos like that and I should put Neji's on his back or something... but I don't want to. Cause it's on his forehead... lol.

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**A/N: I needed someone, so yes, I caved and Zabuza came back. **_**HAYATE'S NOT COMING BACK, THOUGH! I REFUSE! TAKE THAT, MUSE!**_**... please don't hurt me...  
****Also, I've received alot of questions regarding Itachi. Yes, he **_**will**_** show up. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about him.**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	18. Tonight

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Eighteenth time's a charm. K. Masashi **_**will**_** give me Kiba :crosses fingers:**

**PS: Muse, YOU'RE INSANE! "This is your muse speaking. Ja!" What kind of a review is that? At least write something constructive! It's a good thing I see you every day, or I'd be really annoyed! lmao.**

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Naruto unlocked the dorm room door and pushed it open.

"Damn. I'm stuck sharing a room with _you_ again." Naruto teased over his shoulder as he entered the room, flipping the light switch.

"Because you haven't been for the last few days at your place, right?" Sasuke teased back.

A door down the hall slammed open, followed by a shouted, "Naruto!" before Kiba slammed through their door and hugged the shocked teen. The blond's eyes were wide and he looked at Sasuke, confused.

"What idiot gave _you_ coffee?" Sasuke asked, smirking slightly.

"Fuck, I missed you guys!" Kiba rounded to hug Sasuke but the raven gave him a look that reminded Kiba who Sasuke was. He immediately backed off. "I've been alone for what seems like forever, but that's not the good news!"

"There's good news?" Sasuke crossed his arms. "Do tell."

"I'm dating Hinata!" Kiba began bouncing happily around the room. "I asked her out on Christmas day! Everyone's been gone, so I've had no one to tell!"

"MSN and the internet something foreign to you, Dog-face?" Sasuke inquired.

The brunette scoffed and held up his hand, counting people down on his fingers. "You and Naruto were too busy sucking face to come online, Shikamaru's lazy as all hell, Shino's in a hotel with no internet access, and Chouji hates computers." He grabbed Sasuke by the front of the shirt and shook him. "I was going _insane_!"

"Get him off me." Sasuke said calmly to Naruto. The blond just laughed as he pried Kiba's hands off Sasuke's shirt.

"We're going to unpack, so you should probably go."

"Fuck no!" Kiba hollered, rounding on Naruto. "I've been alone in this dorm for ten days! You're not kicking me out just so you can make out like you've been doing since you started dating! Spending one hour with me isn't going to kill you!"

"I was serious about the unpacking." Naruto admitted as he opened his bag, which was sitting on his bed. "You're welcome to stay."

"Or go." Sasuke shot in, giving Kiba a look. The brunette ignored it, preferring human company despite the aura of death Sasuke was sending his way.

"So, what have you been up to?" Naruto asked as he began putting shirts away. Grudgingly, Sasuke began to unpack, too.

"Nothing, really. I didn't know anyone else who was here, so I kind of kept to myself. The caf was closed the whole time, so I went to the village a lot. Ichiraku makes good ramen. Oh, I met Ayame's dad." Kiba grinned. "He thought I was you since I was going every day 'cause Ayame talked about someone who went in as often as Iruka does, and that's usually you." Naruto laughed.

"That's pretty sweet. When are the other guys coming back?"

"Shikamaru is coming back tomorrow, but Shino and Chouji should be back sometime tonight 'cause their classes start at eight tomorrow."

"Ouch." Naruto winced. "I have essentially the same schedule, except some stuff was moved around. I have Chem at one now, 'cause I wanted a new professor."

"I switched into Naruto's class, too." Sasuke shot in from the other side of the room.

"Solid. You guys still have dinner free, right?"

"Course." Naruto grinned.

They all turned as they heard the door leading to the stairwell open and Kiba glanced down the corridor to see who it was.

"Shino!" He disappeared and Sasuke hastily closed the door and locked it.

"Note to self," he said as he headed for Naruto, "make sure _never_ to be the first one back when Kiba's been left alone for too long."

"Amen." Naruto laughed as he continued to pull things out of his bag.

Sasuke went up behind Naruto, wrapping his arms around the blond's waist and kissing his neck, moving his way up with his lips as his hands travelled down. Naruto caught the wandering hands, pulling them away.

"Come on, Sasuke. I said we were going to unpack."

"Unpack later." Sasuke insisted. "Make out now."

"Do you _ever_ stop being horny?" Naruto demanded.

"Not when my boyfriend is as hot as you."

Ignoring Naruto's protests, Sasuke tugged the blond's hoodie off before also pulling off his shirt. Naruto ignored Sasuke, keeping his back to him and continuing to pull out his clothes.

Sasuke didn't like being ignored, so he began to knead the muscles in Naruto's lower back, kissing along Naruto's shoulder. When he got no reaction, he bit down hard at the juncture where shoulder and neck met.

"Ow! Fuck, Sasuke!" Naruto hollered, turning his head to frown at him. "That hurt! You can wait ten minutes!"

"I don't know." Sasuke pushed his hips forward roughly, pressing his groin against Naruto's backside. The blond lost his balance, falling forward more on his bed so he was somewhat bent over. Sasuke leaned over Naruto, pressing his lips against Naruto's ear. "You tell me, Naruto. Does it _feel_ like I can wait ten minutes?"

"Fuck you, Sasuke." Naruto panted, feeling the lower part of his anatomy twitch.

"Offer?" Sasuke grinded his pelvis into Naruto's backside and the blond groaned.

"Dammit, Sasuke, I said no!"

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the groaning." He pressed harder and Naruto groaned again.

"Fuck, I hate you." Naruto panted.

"You lie." Sasuke smirked.

They were interrupted as they heard a loud 'thump' followed by an, "ow!" Kiba had tried to walk into the room, but since Sasuke had locked it, the only thing the brunette walked into was the door.

"Ow! Dammit, guys! Do you two do _anything_ but make out?" Kiba demanded.

"Yes. Sometimes, Sasuke holds me down and forces himself on me." The blond glared at Sasuke.

"Kinky." Sasuke grinned at the same time as Kiba yelled, "Gross!"

"Save me." Naruto called to Kiba.

"How?"

"Find a way."

"You love this." Sasuke insisted, rubbing his nose against Naruto's cheek. The blond turned his head away.

"I do, but not when I'm being pushed onto my bag with sharp objects pressing into my chest and stomach." Sasuke immediately pulled himself off Naruto, taking a step back.

"Sorry."

"No worries." Naruto straightened, rolling his left shoulder. "Ow."

"Sorry." Sasuke repeated.

"I said don't worry. It's fine." Naruto smiled as him. "Come on, we should go say hi to Shino."

"But I want to molest you." Sasuke insisted.

Naruto stared at him before slowly backing away. "All right, Genma, where's Sasuke?"

"Oh, very funny." Both boys' heads snapped towards their window.

"Dammit Genma!" Sasuke grabbed his gun from his top drawer and headed for the window with it. "Start running, bastard, cause I feel like target practice!"

"Sasuke, don't!" Naruto attempted to hold him back.

* * *

"How's Genma?" Sasuke inquired as he sat down beside Naruto in their first Chemistry class of second term.

"He stayed standing the whole lesson and wasn't as enthusiastic about Raidou." Naruto informed. The raven grimaced.

"I didn't _mean_ to shoot him." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I don't think it's the shooting that bothers him so much as where you actually hit him."

"What? He's always on top." Sasuke insisted. "Why that would impair his ability to have sex is beyond me."

"Maybe Genma lies on his back and Raidou is riding him." Naruto suggested as he flipped through his notebook.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, stunned, his hand in midair. Had Naruto _really_ just said that?

Sensing Sasuke's stare, the blond looked up and blushed before looking back down. "What? You didn't think I'd do research?"

"Honestly—no." Sasuke admitted. Naruto said nothing to this, merely blushing as he continued to flip through his notebook.

"It's cool we have the same people in our English class, hey?" Naruto said as he stopped on a page and set his book down, turning to Sasuke.

"I think they all just wanted a lazy professor. Kakashi seemed to like our group. He told me he stopped anyone else from joining the class." Naruto laughed, shaking his head.

"He's just lazy and doesn't want more papers to grade."

"That, too. Oh, he gave me this after you ran off to Anatomy." Sasuke pulled a wrapped present from his bag and handed it to the blond. Naruto took it, feeling bad because he hadn't bought anything for Kakashi. He didn't feel so bad anymore where he unwrapped it and found the latest edition of _Icha Icha Paradise_.

"I don't know whether to thank him, or throw it at his head."

"As amusing as the throwing at his head would be, thanking him would probably be the best approach." Sasuke smirked. "Even if you're banging his somewhat son, he won't forgive an act of violence like that."

"I'm not banging you."

"Yet." Sasuke cut in. Naruto didn't grace him with a reply, instead choosing to blush and put the book into his bag.

"Do you know the prof we're going to have?" he asked Sasuke, glancing at his schedule. "This—Ebisu guy?"

"Nope." Sasuke leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "As long as it's not Orochimaru, though, I'm fine with it."

Just then, the door opened and the professor walked in. Both Naruto and Sasuke cocked their eyebrows in sync as they noticed him wearing sunglasses, even though they were all inside. He dropped his things on the table at the front and turned to the class, smiling brightly.

"Hello, all. I am thrilled you've decided to join my Chemistry class." He pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "I am Ebisu Meguro, and all I have to tell you is this: To become great, and achieve the highest level of understanding in Chemistry, one must follow me with devotion and enthusiasm. I am never wrong, which means I am always right." He smirked as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose again.

Naruto leaned closer to Sasuke, keeping his eyes on the professor. "Why is he talking like that?"

"I don't know, but I wish he'd stop." Sasuke admitted.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, to follow me is the shortcut path to success." Ebisu began to pace in front of the class. "By following me, you learn to appreciate Chemistry and have a greater understanding of it. Yes, by following me, you cannot go wrong!"

"I miss Orochimaru." Naruto admitted.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I'd be willing to spend an entire day with Genma and Gai over this."

"I'll let them know." The blond smirked at Sasuke. The raven levelled him with a glare.

"Suggest it to them, and I kill you."

* * *

"How was your Chem class?" Kiba asked Naruto as the blond fell into the chair across from him, sighing heavily.

"Scary. My prof is nuts."

"Aren't all your professors insane?" Shino inquired.

"If I had Naruto as a student, I'd go a little crazy, too." Shikamaru admitted, twirling his spoon lazily in his soup.

"Shut up, you lazy asshole." Naruto glared at Shikamaru as he opened his cream cheese.

"Where's your other half?" Kiba inquired.

"Toasting his bagel. Unlike me, he can't eat it raw." Naruto began spreading the cream cheese on his bagel.

"You're eating the same thing? Next thing you know, you'll both be _wearing _the same thing." Shikamaru stated.

"Well, I _did_ buy him an orange shirt for Christmas." The blond smirked.

"Who eats bagels for dinner?" Chouji inquired, almost as if he'd missed the entire conversation in between. The blond just shrugged before looking up, locking eyes with Sasuke.

A little further away, Sasuke stood in front of the toaster, waiting for his bagel. He watched Naruto interact for a while until the blond looked up and locked eyes with him. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as the blond grinned mischievously before bringing his knife towards his mouth, some cream cheese still on it. Sasuke frowned now.

Naruto brought the knife into his mouth, keeping eye contact with Sasuke as he sucked on the metal utensil. He pulled it out slightly before pushing it back in, causing Sasuke's eye to twitch. Naruto then pulled it out completely and ran his tongue along the end still covered with cream cheese, enjoying the look on Sasuke's face.

"That's just mean." Sasuke muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away. Naruto was doing it on purpose!

"Hey, Sasuke-bastard! Hurry up, or we'll be done by the time you get here!"

Sasuke turned back to the toaster and saw his bagel was done. Grabbing it, he walked towards the table with his tray and sat down beside Naruto, giving him a punch in the arm.

"Ow! Ow!" Naruto rubbed his arm, glaring at Sasuke. "What was _that_ for?"

"You know damn well." Sasuke began to spread cream cheese on his own bagel.

"What? I was offering." Sasuke dropped his knife and looked at Naruto with wide eyes. The blond waggled his eyebrows and Sasuke's heart gave a double thump in his chest.

"Are you—serious?"

"Course. You've been patient." Naruto shrugged. "I owe you."

"What are we talking about?" Kiba asked, confused.

"Kiba, I think it's best you don't try and decipher it." Shino insisted.

"No, I'm serious. What's up?"

"You noticed what Naruto was doing to his knife?" Shikamaru inquired. Kiba frowned, but nodded. "He was offering to do that to Sasuke." It took only a second for realization to dawn on the brunette.

"Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross!" Kiba clutched his head, shaking it violently. "Oh, God! Visual I _did not_ need!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. Even though Kiba was _visualizing_ Naruto, it was still _his_ Naruto. That, and he could probably visualize Naruto pretty well, since he'd seen the blond naked during the Scavenger Hunt.

"You asked." Shikamaru smirked at him.

"Why am I the only one bothered by this?" Kiba demanded, shaking his hands in front of himself. "Why aren't you all saying the same thing?" Kiba suddenly jumped to his feet, pointing at the other three boys. "You're all gay, aren't you?"

"Most assuredly not." Shino narrowed his eyes. "No offence." he shot at Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto just shrugged.

"Then why?"

"Well, for one thing, we don't _visualize_." Shikamaru informed. "And for another, when we don't get it, we _let it slide_."

"But you _do_ get it! So why aren't you grossed out?" Kiba demanded.

"Because we don't visualize. Sit down." Shino grabbed Kiba's hoodie and yanked him back into his seat. "You're causing a scene."

Kiba sat grumbling for the rest of dinner, rubbing his eyes furiously and smacking his head on occasion. The others ignored him, discussing their first day of second term. Most of the time had been spent on discussing Kakashi's class, since they all had that particular one together.

"Kakashi seems different." Shikamaru commented, resting his head against his hand and watching the bottle he was twirling. "Did he get laid or something?"

Naruto choked on his coke, coughing violently as some went down to a place it didn't belong.

"Funny you should mention that." Sasuke smirked as he rubbed Naruto's back.

"Moron." Naruto choked out, still coughing. "You're supposed to _pound_, not _rub_."

"Both work. This one is preferable." He smirked at the blond.

The rest of the dinner continued with them discussing Kakashi's love interest, and how much they were all going to tease Iruka. None of the others had known Iruka and Kakashi were involved, and just thinking of their easy-to-blush karate instructor going out with a pervert like Kakashi was laughable.

On their way back to the dorm, they were all stopped when two blurs of pink and yellow zoomed by them and attached themselves to Naruto's arms. He looked back and forth wide-eyed, terrified of what was happening.

"Naruto!" Sakura screeched, grinning hugely.

"Come shopping with us tomorrow!" Ino tugged on his arm like a small child.

Naruto cocked his eyebrow, confused, before pulling out of their grasp and looking down his pants. "Yep. Still there." he said, nodding, satisfied. He turned back to the two girls, everyone staring at him confused.

"Huh?" Ino asked intelligently.

"Last time I checked, I was a _guy_."

"But you're gay." Sakura insisted.

"Not all gay guys like shopping! And why didn't you ask Sasuke?" Naruto motioned his roommate, ignoring the scathing look he received for involving him.

"_Because_, you're the only one out of the two of you with a sense of fashion." Ino insisted, crossing her arms. Everyone but Naruto cocked an eyebrow before Kiba burst out laughing.

"_Naruto_ has a sense of fashion?" He howled with laughter, thumping his fist on one of the pillars of the walkway.

"I have to agree. Have you _seen_ what he wears?" Chouji insisted, confused.

"At least he shows variety." Sakura said dryly, looking at Sasuke. He was wearing the same jeans and blue hoodie he'd worn all through high school, when the girls had first met him. Nothing had changed. "Besides, orange suits him." Sakura turned back to Chouji. "He looks hot in orange."

Sasuke leaned back against one of the pillars. "He looks hotter naked."

Silence.

"I have a picture, would you like one?"

"Eh?" Naruto demanded. "You have a picture? Since when?"

"The Scavenger Hunt." Sasuke replied.

"Eh? You didn't delete it?"

"Now, honestly, _why_ would I do that?" Sasuke almost rolled his eyes, but he refrained. He _was_ an Uchiha, after all. When no one was looking, it was fine. With these people watching him—no way in hell.

"I wouldn't mind a copy." Sakura smirked. "If I can't have him, I want at least a _piece_ of him."

"Ditto." Ino agreed.

"Eh?"

* * *

"Naruto, up!" Sasuke pulled the blankets off the blond, receiving a yelp for his efforts. "You're going to be late for Math."

"I'm not going." he mumbled, pulling his pillow over his head. "I'm tired."

"Ibiki will penalize you." Sasuke reminded.

"Your fault for wearing me out last night." the blond's muffled voice retorted. Sasuke shook his head with a sigh.

"If you're this exhausted after _that_, having sex with you won't last very long." Naruto threw his pillow at Sasuke.

"I have stamina, bastard. I'm just really tired the next day."

"Don't give me excuses." Sasuke smirked. "Now come on, get up."

Grumbling, the blond extracted himself from the two-beds-turned-into-one and walked lazily towards the door. He exited the room as Sasuke went about remaking their beds before plopping down in his chair and continuing what he was doing before Naruto got up.

Naruto returned and changed before walking up behind Sasuke and peering over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He frowned as he noticed Sasuke writing his English paper.

"Why are you already writing this, Sasuke?"

"Why not? It's due February twelfth and it's already the third. Don't want to procrastinate it too much, you know?" He turned to look at the blond and frowned as he realized Naruto wasn't listening. He was staring at the ground, an unreadable expression on his face. Sasuke's frown deepened and he turned to face him completely. "Naruto, are you okay?"

Naruto's head snapped up and he flashed Sasuke a huge grin, scratching the back of his head.

"Of course." He laughed heartily before slapping Sasuke on the back. "Come on, let's go meet the guys for breakfast." The blond turned and Sasuke couldn't help but note the blond's smile had been the fakest he'd ever seen it.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Sasuke grabbed his bag and the two of them left the room, Naruto still wearing that ridiculously fake expression. They walked to the commons block and noticed the others already waiting there for them. Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba had class at nine, so they all decided to meet for breakfast before class, but since Kiba went to work out in the morning and Shikamaru liked seeing the colours that bounced off the clouds at sunrise, they were already sitting in the commons, ready for breakfast.

"Hey guys." Kiba and Shikamaru headed for the caf as Naruto and Sasuke entered. "Sorry we're late, this one wouldn't get out of bed."

"No worries." Shikamaru stated with a shrug.

"Morning Naruto!" Kiba wrapped his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"Morning!" Naruto grinned widely as they climbed the stairs and then headed in another direction. Kiba frowned at the blond's back before stopping Sasuke as he passed. The raven turned to him, but Kiba kept his eyes on Naruto, the frown still on his face.

"What's wrong with Naruto?" he asked, finally turning to look at Sasuke. The raven looked at the blond, a frown also marring his features.

"So it _wasn't_ just me." he mused aloud.

"Huh?" Kiba asked, confused. The raven faced him again.

"This morning, we were talking and everything seemed okay, but then I talked about our English paper and the due date and he suddenly just—he ended up like that. I don't know what's wrong." Both boys turned to look at Naruto.

"Oh. That's a little weird. I'm sure he just has something on his mind." Kiba shrugged, picking up a tray.

"Maybe." Sasuke replied.

He couldn't stop staring at Naruto after that. Every time he talked to people, the smile got faker and faker until he was just grimacing. Most people didn't really notice, but Kiba and Sasuke knew him well enough to be able to tell something was wrong. Kakashi was probably the only other person who noticed, and he'd held Sasuke back to inquire about it.

Sasuke didn't know what was wrong, and he didn't like being left out of the loop. He had talked to Naruto about his brother, and that had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. Kakashi didn't even know the full story, and Sasuke felt—hurt, mostly. He'd trusted Naruto with something important, and Naruto wasn't returning the favour.

After dinner, Sasuke had had enough and finally confronted the blond once they were back in their room, the door closed.

"Naruto, what's wrong with you?" Sasuke walked up to the blond, shoving his hands in his pockets. Naruto had sat down at his desk, opening a website.

"Nothing's wrong with me." he insisted.

"Something's wrong." Sasuke growled, narrowing his eyes. Naruto turned to look at him, that annoying fake smile on his face again.

"Nothing—"

"Naruto, don't even bother lying to me! I know something's wrong, and I accept you don't want to tell me, but don't just pretend you're okay when—"

"It's tomorrow." Naruto whispered, interrupting Sasuke. The raven's mouth snapped shut as he surveyed Naruto, confused. The blond was staring at the floor, his fist clutching the back of his chair so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

"What?" Sasuke finally inquired.

"The fourth. It's tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" he asked again.

"The anniversary of the day my parents died." (1)

There was a _long_ silence.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, seeing the pained look on the raven's face. Sasuke hadn't necessarily wanted Naruto to tell him what was wrong, he'd just wanted to know how to fix it. He kind of regretted having pushed Naruto. He hadn't pushed hard, sure, but he'd still pushed. Naruto would've told him in his own time if he wanted Sasuke to know. Since he hadn't, Sasuke figured the blond wasn't ready to share, and he'd somewhat forced him to.

Again.

"I always knew I'd have to go without grandma, but—I just... I never thought it would be so soon." Naruto whispered, rubbing his eyes. "Fuck. I can't go there alone, Sasuke, I can't!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a few seconds, the blond's face buried in his hands. He bent down in front of Naruto and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him to his chest.

"I'll go with you."

* * *

Sasuke slammed the car door and turned to Naruto, watching the other boy slowly make his way around the car, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Sasuke saw his throat muscles working, as if he was trying to hold back tears. When he reached Sasuke, the two of them began walking through the parking lot, heading for the entrance of the large cemetery.

Sasuke followed Naruto in silence, weaving through the rows of tombstones until they reached two somewhere near the centre. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand in his own and squeezed tightly as he stared at the tombstones.

Sasuke said nothing. He didn't know what to say, or what to do. He wasn't Naruto's grandmother, so he couldn't randomly talk to Naruto as if he knew his parents when he didn't. He couldn't really do anything. So, he just stood beside Naruto, holding his hand in silence.

They stood there for probably close to an hour, but never once did Sasuke say anything. The sun was just beginning to set when Naruto finally nodded to the tombstones they stood in front of and then turned, still holding Sasuke's hand. The raven walked back to the car with him in silence. He wanted to comfort Naruto, but he really didn't know what to say. He knew that personally, when it came to his parents, he didn't want to talk about them, period. He'd forced himself to forget the date of their deaths specifically so that he wouldn't have to do what Naruto had just done. It was almost like torturing yourself.

They climbed into the car in silence and Naruto started it, but didn't drive. He placed both hands on the wheel, staring out the front windshield.

"Thanks, Sasuke."

"Sure." he replied. "You can talk about it, if you want."

Naruto smiled at him, probably the first true smile Sasuke had seen since the day before.

"Thanks, but I don't talk about it. Grandma and I used to just stand there and think. It's enough. It's all I need." He began to drive and Sasuke just left it alone.

They returned to the dorm and went to dinner with the others, Naruto acting more like his usual self. Kiba kept shooting glances at Sasuke, silently asking him what had been wrong with Naruto, but the raven said nothing. It wasn't his place to tell Kiba.

He'd pulled the brunette aside on their way back to the dorm to tell him Naruto had been upset, but everything was going to be fine, and not to worry. No matter how much Kiba tried to make him talk, Sasuke kept his mouth shut. This wasn't information he could divulge freely, and no amount of pestering from Kiba was going to change that.

"Look," Sasuke stopped in front of Kiba's door annoyed, Naruto already inside their room, "he was going through a tough time and needed someone. I think I fixed it, so just drop it."

"You 'think'?" Kiba demanded. "What do you _mean_ you 'think'?"

Sasuke sighed. "I'm not at liberty to discuss this with you, Kiba. It's a personal matter, and should Naruto want you to know, he will inform you himself. Leave it alone." He turned his back on him before Kiba could get another word in.

Sasuke opened his door and walked inside the room. He barely had enough time to close the door before Naruto jumped on him, clamping his lips against Sasuke's. The raven slammed back against the door, fumbling for the lock before burying his hands in Naruto's hair.

_Well, __**this**__ is new,_ he thought as he smirked against Naruto's lips. Naruto was never the feral one when they made out. The about-face was making Sasuke—excited.

Naruto wrenched Sasuke's shirt off before clamping down hard on Sasuke's neck. The raven groaned, burying his hands in Naruto's hair again.

"Tonight." the blond growled against Sasuke's throat. "Right now."

"What?" Sasuke panted, his mind foggy.

"Now. I want to do it now." Sasuke's brain snapped into focus. He knew what Naruto was asking. The problem was—tonight wasn't a good night.

He pushed against Naruto's chest, forcing the blond to let go of his neck. He stared into azure eyes, Naruto panting. Sighing, he shook his head, his hands on Naruto's shoulders.

"No, Naruto. Not tonight."

"Why not?" Naruto all but hollered, anger creeping into his voice.

"Because this isn't the best night. You're upset, and you'll do anything to get your mind off it."

"You're wrong!" Naruto insisted.

"Naruto, this is _me_ you're talking to." Sasuke snapped back harshly. "I did exactly what you want to do loads of times. You busy your mind with something else when you want the pain to go away. This isn't something I'm willing to do with you when you're in this state."

"What the fuck does it matter to you?" Naruto demanded, shoving Sasuke hard. The raven slammed against the door again, but kept his face impassive. "As long as you're getting laid, why the fuck should you care?" (2)

Sasuke's eyes raged angrily and he clenched his fists. "You didn't just say that to me, Naruto." he hissed, beyond furious.

"You've been asking to do me since we started dating, and now I'm putting out and you won't put in?" Naruto growled angrily, his own fists clenched. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What's _wrong_ is that you're more _important_ than that!" Sasuke yelled. "I don't want this to be a pity party! I don't want to do this because right now, you feel like it's what you want! I want you to be sure, and I'll be damned if we wake up tomorrow with you regretting it!"

"Since when do you think of anyone but yourself?" Sasuke's head snapped back.

Naruto spun around, pulling off his clothes before jumping into bed in his boxers. He wrapped himself up tightly in his own blankets, kicking Sasuke's onto the other boy's bed before burying his head under his covers.

Sasuke just stared at him in shock, unable to believe what had just transpired. Stunned, he opened the door and left the room, turning off the light as he did so. He shoved his hands into his pockets and did something he never thought he would ever do.

He went to Kiba's room.

"It's open." Kiba called as Sasuke knocked, the raven opening the door. Kiba turned to him and cocked an eyebrow. "You never come to my room. Everything okay?"

"Can I hang out in here for a bit?" Sasuke shifted from foot to foot, his hands in his pockets. "I just want to wait until Naruto's asleep."

Kiba frowned at this answer, not liking it.

"Did something happen? I heard yelling, but I couldn't really make it out. Not that I was listening or anything."

"Let's just say we both need to cool down or we'll have a repeat of the fight we had last term." Sasuke sat down on Kiba's bed.

Kiba said nothing to this, throwing Sasuke a gameboy before turning back to his computer. The raven entertained himself for a few hours until Kiba had to kick him out to go to bed. When Sasuke returned to the room, he could hear the slow, steady breathing from the room's other occupant, and he knew Naruto was asleep.

Quietly getting ready for sleep, Sasuke climbed onto his bed and wrapped himself up in his covers. He turned his back to Naruto and closed his eyes.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to find himself dangerously close to falling off the bed. He figured it was because he'd spent most of the night trying to make sure he didn't roll closer to Naruto. He didn't want to wake up with the blond's fist down his throat.

Turning his head, he looked over at the bed beside his own, but Naruto wasn't there. He heard clicking and turned back, trying to focus his eyes on the scene before him. Naruto was sitting at his desk, typing something on his computer. He paused to survey a book before continuing, and Sasuke realized he was writing his English essay.

Stretching, Sasuke sat up. The movement caused Naruto to pause and turn. Azure eyes locked on brown ones and both boys sat frozen, staring at one another. Sasuke shifted so he was sitting cross-legged, facing Naruto. The blond turned his chair slightly, surveying Sasuke cautiously.

"Hey." Sasuke finally said.

"Hi." Naruto replied awkwardly.

"How are you feeling?" The blond nodded.

"Better. You?"

"I'm fine."

They sat in silence for a while until Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I'm—really sorry about yesterday." He winced, dropping his hand back into his lap. "I was out of line. I had no reason to get mad when you were just looking out for me."

"It's okay. I understand." Sasuke replied immediately.

"No, it's not okay." Naruto insisted. "I was—an asshole. I deserve a medal for how much of an asshole I was."

"It's okay." Sasuke repeated. "I know the state of mind you were in."

"That's no excuse." Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "As much as I'd like it to be, it's not a reason for it to be okay. What I said—there were bullets attached to those words. I could tell." Sasuke winced slightly, looking away for a second before focusing on Naruto again. "I mean—I can't believe the things I said. Like you not thinking of anyone but yourself?" Naruto startled Sasuke by slapping himself in the forehead. "Fuck, I'm such an asshole! You spent an hour with me at the cemetery, and I come out with you care about no one but yourself?"

Sasuke didn't know how much more of this he could take. Yes, it had been harsh. Yes, his words had hurt. But for God's sake, Naruto had to stop beating himself up over it! Sasuke understood his state of mind, and he knew what had compelled him to say such things. He'd forgiven Naruto the second the word 'hi' had come out of his mouth.

Sasuke climbed off the bed and managed to reach Naruto before the blond could say anything. Lightly brushing his lips against Naruto's, he pulled away, both hands on the other boy's shoulders.

"It's. Oh. Kay." he insisted. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry." Naruto repeated.

"I know." Sasuke kissed him lightly again. "I know."

They both turned to the door as someone started banging on it. _Two guesses who,_ Sasuke thought with a sigh.

"Yo, guys." Sasuke was right. "You didn't meet us for breakfast. It _is_ almost nine, you know!" Kiba informed them.

The two boys looked at the closest clock and Naruto cursed. Calling for Shikamaru and Kiba to head to class without them, the two boys flew around the room, quickly pulling pants on and shoving their feet into sneakers.

"We'll have to grab something, 'cause I know _I_ won't be able to last until lunch." Naruto said as both of them exited the room, locking the door. Sasuke merely nodded, the two of them hurrying to the caf and grabbing muffins. They rushed up the street, eating as they went, and then parted ways.

"I'll see you in English." Sasuke called.

"Mmf." Naruto replied around a mouthful of muffin before heading for Math.

He spent most of Math missing playing hangman with Gaara, but at least he had Neji. The other boy had wanted Ibiki yet again, and Naruto was glad. They'd spent most of the lesson discussing when Naruto would have another get together at his place, Neji trying to convince him to do something for Naruto's own birthday. Naruto had never had a party before, mainly because he had no friends to invite to it. Knowing he had some now was making him sway towards Neji's suggestion.

He parted ways with Neji after Math, heading to English. He spent the entirety of English with Sasuke feeling up his leg and Naruto running his foot up Sasuke's calf. Kakashi had just smirked, since he could see everything from where he sat. He thought of commenting a few times, but figured it wasn't worth the glare he would get from Sasuke.

Besides, since Naruto and Sasuke knew about him and Iruka, they had ammunition against _him_ as well. He was safer just keeping his mouth shut.

English was as uneventful as usual, everyone leaving while discussing how much fun it was to have a lazy professor. Sasuke kissed Naruto's cheek before walking back towards Vanier with Kiba and Shino, and Naruto headed for Anatomy.

He didn't know anyone in Anatomy this term, and he was kind of sad he couldn't make fun of Genma with Neji and Tenten. The perk was knowing the professor although, at times, Naruto _really_ wished he didn't. Especially since every lesson started the same way.

Naruto entered the large hall, sitting down in the front row and opening his bag. No sooner had he sat down than Genma appeared beside him like rapid fire. Naruto didn't even bother looking up.

"No, Genma." Naruto said simply as he pulled out his notebook.

"What?" Genma demanded. "_Still_? Jesus, young people and their damn morals!" he grumbled, crossing his arms and slouching in the chair. "You better tell Sasuke that if he doesn't bone you soon, _I'll_ fucking do it! I have no problem with having sex with my students."

"Do you _want_ Sasuke to rip off your balls?" Naruto inquired calmly. "Because that's what he threatens to do every time you make a comment like that."

Genma winced, his hands unconsciously lowering to cover his family jewels in case Sasuke suddenly appeared out of thin air, as he so often did. Grumbling something about violent cheapskates, Genma stood up to start the lesson. He spent most of it with at least one hand covering his crotch.

Naruto hardly paid attention, his mind running through everything that had happened the night before. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He eventually buried his face in his hands, sighing. He felt like such a prick.

_Next time,_ Naruto decided silently. _Next time things get heated, and he wants to do it, we'll do it. Even if I'm not ready—I owe him that much. _

* * *

It had been a month since the fight between Naruto and Sasuke had occurred, and as February came to a close, Sasuke was getting more and more sexually frustrated. It had gotten to the point where Sasuke would leave in the middle of make-out sessions to take a cold shower, and then grumble about being in pain for the next four hours.

Naruto began to feel a little bad. Sasuke hadn't said anything about sex since the night of their fight, and Naruto knew the raven kept taking cold showers because of him. He'd finally decided to stop beating around the bush. He'd been with Sasuke long enough, and he saw no reason to act like a damn girl and keep putting it off. (3)

He broke off from Sasuke after class on Friday, telling him he had to buy something at the village. It had taken almost ten minutes to convince the raven not to join him, and when they were finally walking in different directions, Naruto let out a relieved sigh.

Of course, his heart started beating wildly in his chest as the pharmacy in the Village came closer and closer. He was sure this happened all the time, but he was still a virgin. This was damn embarrassing to him!

Walking slowly through the aisles, he stopped in front of the condoms and the lube, staring at them as if they would magically be bought and paid for without him having to go to the cashier. Since this was _not_ happening, he finally pulled a box of condoms and a tube of lube off the shelves and headed for the cashier, putting them down and blushing scarlet.

"Virgin?" The girl behind the cash smirked, popping her gum as she rang the stuff through.

"Why do you say that?" Naruto asked, trying to sound insulted.

"You're blushing." She held her hand out for his money, which he gave to her, even more embarrassed now. "Don't worry. Better safe than sorry, right? Embarrassment is a small price to pay. Besides, you stop getting embarrassed later. If your partner is good enough in bed, you'll be more concerned with being stocked than what the cashier thinks of you." She winked at him as he took the stuff and shoved it into his messenger bag. "The chick you've got is lucky to have you." Naruto winced.

"Uh, thanks." He walked towards the door.

"Have fun." the girl called after him.

Naruto was blushing the whole way home. No one knew what he had in his bag, but that didn't matter. _He_ knew what was in his bag, so he blushed. He forced himself to calm down and stop blushing as he neared Vanier, trying to compose himself. Sasuke would know something was wrong, and Naruto didn't want to talk to him about it now. He wanted to wait until later that night.

Climbing to his room, Naruto managed to suppress his blush. _Point for me,_ he thought as he pushed open his door—and froze. The blush returned full force.

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke said simply as he towelled himself dry, water dripping onto the floor. He'd obviously just emerged from the shower. _Figures,_ Naruto thought annoyed as he hastily closed to door and leaned his forehead against it, his back to Sasuke.

"You okay?" the raven inquired, frowning at Naruto's reaction. It wasn't like he'd never seen Sasuke naked before. Hell, they'd _showered_ together a few times!

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'll be right back." Naruto shrugged his bag off and was about to drop it on the floor before pausing. He stared at it, debating on whether or not to take it with him. Shaking his head, he decided it was stupid. Sasuke didn't know what was in it; there was no reason for him to worry. Finally dropping it, he rushed out of the room, heading for the bathroom.

Sasuke merely cocked an eyebrow, wrapping the towel around his waist and shrugging. He padded towards his closet when he heard something buzzing. Frowning, he spun around to try and locate where it was coming from. His eyes zeroed in on Naruto's bag.

"Shit." He rushed to Naruto's bag and opened the front pocket, rummaging through it. He couldn't find the phone. Opening the next pocket, he rummaged around and finally pulled the blond's cell phone out, flipping it open.

"Hello?"

There was a long pause.

"Sasuke?" Tsunade's voice rang down the line.

"Yes?"

Another silence followed.

"Didn't I just call Naruto?" Sasuke almost laughed.

"He's in the bathroom." Sasuke stood up to head back to his closet, the phone still pressed against his ear, when he caught sight of something. Frowning, he bent back down in front of Naruto's bag. "What do you need?" he asked the woman as he pulled the front pocket open more.

"Nothing, I just haven't heard from him in a while. Wanted to make sure the brat was still alive." Sasuke's hand closed around something and he pulled it out. His eyes widened as he stared at the lube in his hand.

_Naruto can't be—no! There's no way!_ Sasuke thought, amazed.

_**Sweet!**_ his inner voice hollered, dancing around excitedly.

_I was trying so hard not to push him!_

_You didn't push him! He wants this!_

_You're just horny, shut the fuck up._

_Hey, I'm __**part**__ of you! If __**I'm**__ horny, then __**you're **__horny._

_I don't want him to regret it._

_He bought this of his own free will!_ his inner voice insisted. _It's his choice! What are you going to do? Tie him down and tell him he can't touch you?_

_That sounds kind of kinky, actually._

_See! See! It's perfect! _

Sasuke would've been quite content to continue arguing with—himself, save for Tsunade talking on the phone. "Sasuke? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. I spaced out." Sasuke heard the toilet flush and hastily put the lube back, vaguely noting the box of condoms also in Naruto's bag. "Yeah, Naruto's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine. I have to go." He hung up on the president before she could say another word and shoved the phone back in Naruto's bag, closing all the pockets. He put the bag back the way it was and hurried back to his part of the room, pulling open his top drawer just as Naruto walked in.

"You're _still_ not dressed?" Naruto asked amazed. "What _are_ you, a girl?"

"I think you know first hand I most assuredly am not." Sasuke retorted.

And the blush was back full force.

Naruto hated how easily embarrassed he was. Grunting something to Sasuke that could've been a comment on a better day, the blond left the room and spent the rest of the time until dinner with Kiba. Sasuke spent the entire time wondering when Naruto was planning on talking to him about his 'dirty little secret'. Sasuke hoped it was soon, but he didn't want Naruto to know that he knew, so he would just wait.

They all went to dinner, and then returned to Kiba's room to play _Final Fantasy IX_—they'd finished _Final Fantasy VII_ in January. After about three hours of that, Naruto retired to the room. Sasuke didn't want to let him know he knew something was up, so he remained for an extra half hour before also returning to the room.

When Sasuke opened the door, Naruto was sitting in his desk chair, facing the door, his left leg jerking up and down nervously. He was wearing nothing but his boxers. Sasuke's libido twitched but he ordered it to stay put for a few more seconds, choosing to arch an eyebrow to distract the blond from the movement in his lower region.

"You okay?" Sasuke inquired.

"Tonight." was all the blond said. Sasuke played dumb, frowning confused.

"Tonight what?" Naruto threw something at him and Sasuke caught it easily as he closed the door, looking down at the lube in his hand. He locked the door before walking up to Naruto, putting the lube on the bed as he passed it. He reached Naruto and ran his hands up and down the blond's arms.

"Are you sure?" Naruto nodded.

"Yeah."

"Okay." Sasuke bent down and kissed him.

* * *

1. Get it? The Fourth? Ahahaha... ha... yeah...

2. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Kyuubi Naruto, University Style.

3. I'm a girl. I can insult my sex.

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	19. Why Does Everyone Know?

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi **_**finally**_** gave me Kiba. :Men come in and reclaim the stolen Kiba: DAMN!** **I almost got away with it that time!**

**A/N: Yo. Few things to clear up.**** 1) Threats keep popping up about how if I stop updating regularly, I will either be: maimed, injured, or killed... I'm going to try to continue, but please bear in mind, I have exams. Cut me some slack :cries:  
2) Yes, Itachi is coming! Enjoy the humour while you can, because you will soon wish he was NOT coming!**

**

* * *

**

Naruto lazily peeled open his eyes, vaguely wondering why his blanket was breathing. And why it was so _heavy_. It wasn't like it was crushing him or anything, but it was _definitely_ heavier than any blanket he remembered having.

His eyes finally focused, and the first thing he saw was a mesh of black hair. That explained a lot. He couldn't help but smile contentedly as he thought of the previous night. Admittedly, he was going to have a hard time walking for a while, but he was sure he'd get used to it.

Sasuke shifted above him, inhaling deeply before opening his eyes and lifting his head. Naruto smiled at him, messing up Sasuke's hair.

"Morning." he teased. The raven glared at him before putting his head back down and resettling. "Oi, oi. You're not going back to sleep, are you?"

"I worked much harder than you did last night." the raven insisted.

"This is true, but do I _have_ to continue being your mattress?" Naruto asked.

"You're comfortable." was Sasuke's yawned reply. Naruto just sighed, staring at the ceiling. Sasuke's steady breathing a few minutes later informed him that the raven was asleep again. He figured he could lie in bed for a while and let Sasuke sleep. It was true; Sasuke _had_ worked harder the night before.

_And it was greatly appreciated,_ Naruto thought with a grin.

Two hours passed before Naruto really couldn't take it anymore. He was still covered in dry sweat and cum, the room _reeked_ of sex, and he _really_ had to go to the bathroom. Putting his hands on Sasuke's shoulders, he shook him gently—which was awkward, since he had to bend his arms much higher than they really wanted to go.

"Sasuke?"

"Mm?" the raven mumbled out.

"I've waited for two hours. It's time to get up." Sasuke let out a long sigh before shifting.

"Fine." He rolled off the blond, allowing Naruto to sit up. As he turned to climb off the bed, Sasuke wrapped his arms around him from behind, nuzzling his neck.

"You really _are_ a real blond." Sasuke smirked at Naruto, as if he'd never even seen Naruto naked before.

"Fuck you." Naruto shot back half-heartedly, leaning back into Sasuke.

"Again?" Sasuke nudged Naruto's temple with his nose, turning the blond's head so he could kiss his neck.

"I definitely want a repeat, but not right now." Naruto admitted, feeling a blush creep onto his cheeks.

"I'll look forward to it." Sasuke released Naruto, allowing the blond to jump off the bed. He reached down and grabbed his boxers, pulling them back on as his eyes found the garbage stationed beside the bed. He looked inside and nodded, impressed with Sasuke's aim.

"Nice shot." he commented as he motioned to the condom lying at the bottom of the rubbish bin.

"In more places than one, right?" Sasuke smirked. Naruto just rolled his eyes, heading for the door. "Where are you going?"

"To shower."

"I'll come." Sasuke climbed off the bed. For once, it was _Naruto's_ turn for a comeback.

"I don't know. Only if you're really nice." It took Sasuke a few seconds to realize what Naruto was talking about, but when he did, he grinned. Apparently, his Genma-esque personality was rubbing off on Naruto—in a _good_ way.

Sasuke pulled on his boxers and grabbed his towel as Naruto grabbed his own towel, some soap, and his shampoo.

"All set?" Sasuke inquired. The blond nodded, so Sasuke opened the door and was startled to see Kiba, Shino, Chouji and Shikamaru in front of him, all sitting on the floor, as if waiting for something.

"Can I help you?" he inquired, Naruto coming up behind him and looking over his shoulder.

Kiba grinned ferally, leaning back against the wall, both hands behind his head.

"So, have a good night?" Sasuke forced his face to remain emotionless.

"Enjoyable, yes. Why?"

"We were just wondering." Shikamaru stated calmly. Kiba wouldn't leave it at that. He closed his eyes and began panting slightly.

"Sasuke!" Kiba moaned. "Fuck, _harder_, Sasuke!"

The blond's eyes bugged out of his face and he blushed scarlet as Kiba practically died laughing.

"Well, at least I'm getting some!" he blurted out before rushing to the bathroom. Kiba's laughter died out immediately.

"Well, fuck, that was a little hurtful."

"If you want a go, Kiba, you can ask Naruto if he's willing." Sasuke said with a smirk as he closed the door. "He was good in bed—for a virgin." Sasuke licked his lips as he looked off in the direction of the bathroom. "I can't imagine how good he'll be when he's gotten more practice."

"I don't need to hear this!" Kiba covered his ears with both hands. "Too much sharing!"

"The others don't seem bothered." Sasuke grinned, motioning the other three.

"It's because we block out what you say when you start talking about things we would rather not hear." Shino replied.

Sasuke just shrugged before walking off down the corridor to join his boyfriend in the bathroom. If he was lucky, maybe he could convince Naruto to have another go in the shower...

* * *

By Monday morning, Kiba was threatening to castrate Sasuke because he lived two doors away, and all he ever heard was the two of them. He felt bad for their neighbours, but Sasuke insisted they were never home, anyway. It was the truth. Sasuke had never once seen either of their neighbours. He almost began to suspect they might not have had any.

Kiba continued to grumble all through breakfast, and as they walked to class, too. Shikamaru just ignored it all, preferring to just stay lost in thought than listen to Kiba gripe. He heard the brunette do it often enough.

They all split in different directions to head to their various classes, Sasuke going to French and Naruto disappearing for Math. They were all reunited an hour later in English class.

"I have a favour." Sasuke said, turning to Kiba, who was sitting two rows behind them, waiting for Hinata to arrive. Sakura and Ino usually occupied the seats behind Sasuke and Naruto, but they weren't there yet.

"Shoot."

"Don't tell Kakashi." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Kiba. "If Kakashi finds out, everyone will."

"Sasuke, I hate to break it to you, but you and Naruto are _loud_!" Kiba exclaimed. "_Everyone_ probably _already_ knows."

"Tell Kakashi, and I kill you." Sasuke hissed. Kiba's eyes widened at the venom dripping from Sasuke's words and he nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, okay. Chill out, fuck." Kiba jumped a mile high as Hinata sat down beside him.

"Sorry." she said in her shy voice. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." Kiba squeaked. Sasuke smirked, satisfied he'd scared the other boy enough for him to keep his mouth shut.

Sasuke spent the better part of the beginning of the lesson—the time they were waiting for Kakashi to show up—trying to unbutton the blond's pants under the desk. He received fierce opposition, because Naruto didn't want to walk around with wet boxers for the rest of the day.

Sasuke was almost winning when the door opened and he was forced the retreat his hand. They all watched Kakashi walk to the desk and put his books down, glancing at Sasuke and Naruto. He then frowned and walked up to them, leaning close to Sasuke. The raven leaned back, not liking his personal space invaded by anyone other than Naruto.

Kakashi's eyes curved happily as he smiled at him. "Congratulations. I'm glad you're not sexually frustrated anymore."

"Eh?!" Naruto hollered. "How did you know?!"

"He doesn't look like he has a stick up his ass anymore." Kakashi smirked at the blond before turning back to Sasuke. "How good is he?"

"None of your damn business." Sasuke snapped, feeling a faint blush on his cheeks. The whole class was paying attention, and he didn't want _everyone_ to know! Although, it seemed he had no choice, now. He knew that if the others contributed, he'd probably cave and start talking about it.

"You guys have had sex?! Oh my God!" Sakura hugged Sasuke from behind. _And it looks like I'll be talking about it, _Sasuke thought with a smirk. "That's so great! Who topped?"

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, blushing scarlet.

"I bet it was Sasuke. He's the more aggressive of the two." Ino commented.

"And the most horny." Sakura added.

"Stop it!" Naruto put one hand on either girl's mouths, turning completely around in his chair to do so. "This is our personal life! Key word: _**personal**_!"

"But you're so cute when you get flustered." Ino insisted, having pulled Naruto's hand away from her mouth.

"No, no, no! I am not cute when flustered!" Naruto insisted.

"I was thinking more along the lines of hot." Sakura agreed.

"No!"

"You should see him when he comes."

"Sasuke!" Naruto hit him across the back of the head.

"How does he look?" Sakura asked, enthralled.

"Stop!" Kiba hollered, slamming his fist on the table before him and standing up. "I am feeling very uncomfortable with this conversation, and from the looks of it, Naruto isn't enjoying it too much, either. If you don't stop right now and start the lesson, I'm leaving!"

"See you on Wednesday." Kakashi commented. "Does he mewl a lot? 'Cause that's what Iruka does." Kakashi said to Sasuke.

Kiba stared at Kakashi, stunned. The professor had just dismissed him in favour of listening to Sasuke's personal life. _You've gotta be shitting me!_ Kiba thought, amazed. _The professors here are insane! _

With that, Kiba and Hinata packed up and waited for Naruto as he did the same, all of them rushing out of the room. Naruto was blushing like crazy. Nobody else left, mostly because they either wanted to discuss what had transpired between the two boys, or they couldn't be bothered to move. Chouji, Shikamaru and Shino were discussing their upcoming Japanese exam while Sakura, Ino, Kakashi and Sasuke discussed Naruto and Sasuke's weekend.

When class was finally over, Sasuke stayed behind for a few minutes to talk to Kakashi before leaving. He bumped into Naruto in the corridor, who'd been waiting for him, and Naruto punched him in the shoulder.

"Bastard! What the fuck did you have to go and do that for?!" Naruto demanded angrily.

"Calm down, it was just for fun."

"_The noises I make during sex are not conversations to have for fun!"_ Naruto hollered, and then blushed as he realized people were staring at him.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke ran his hand through the blond's hair. "You're just so cute when you get embarrassed."

Naruto swatted his hand away before grumbling something about needing to go to class and disappearing. It was true, Naruto had to go to Anatomy. His steps slowed as he realized who he _had_ for Anatomy. _Oh dear God, please don't make him go nuts._

Naruto wasn't going to _tell_ Genma, of course. He wasn't an idiot. He just had the funny feeling that Genma would know, even if he didn't say anything. The guy was a pervert with freaking radar.

Naruto sat down in his usual seat, and just like always, Genma appeared beside him, grinning.

"No, Genma." Naruto said simply, but he could feel the blush creeping onto his face. Glancing at Genma worriedly, he saw the perverted professor's eyes light up before he jumped out of his seat, pointing his finger at Naruto.

"Oh my God! You did it! You finally did it!" Genma began laughing loudly, clapping his hands like an idiot. He then grabbed Naruto's hand, raising it high in the air while pointing at the blond, addressing the rest of the class. "Check it out! He's not a virgin anymore! Naruto finally got laid!"

Naruto pulled his hand free and sank into his chair, covering his face as people in the class began to clap. Some people even did a few catcalls. Naruto wanted to die.

"I'm glad you finally worked up the balls to do it." Genma plopped back down beside Naruto. "So, how was he?" He poked the blond in the arm with his index finger, grinning maniacally.

"I'm not telling you that!" Naruto snapped, sinking further in his chair.

"Oh, come on. Just a little bit. Is he vocal? Is he compassionate? Is he _good_?" Genma continued to poke him in the arm. "Are _you_ any good? Can I try you?"

"No you can't _try_ me!" Naruto hollered. "Start the lesson, you damn pervert!"

"Oh, come on. One little taste? Sasuke doesn't have to know. You can compare us, see who's better."

"No!"

"You're no fun. You never want to experiment." Genma crossed his arms and pouted.

"If you don't start the lesson _right_ now, I'm telling Sasuke you hit on me!"

Genma had never propelled out of a chair so quickly in his life. He spent the whole lesson casting worried glances at the door, as if he thought perhaps Sasuke was going to arrive with a gun to shoot him in the ass again.

* * *

"Why didn't you lie?" Sasuke inquired as he and Naruto pushed through the double doors to exit Chemistry and head to Biology.

"I _did_ lie!" Naruto insisted. "I said no, but of course, I fucking blushed and he figured it out himself."

"It couldn't have been _that_ bad." Sasuke smirked.

"He fucking hit on me!" Naruto hollered angrily, wanting to get revenge on both Sasuke _and_ Genma.

Sasuke's smirk faded and his eye twitched. "What?"

"He said he 'wanted a taste!' I can only guess what the fuck _that_ means, but chances are, I'm right on the money!"

Genma—was a dead man.

Sasuke was going to find the pervert, and he was going to castrate him. Then, he was going to blind him so he could never look at his Naruto again. Then, he was going to cut off his hands so he could never even _think_ of touching his Naruto ever again. And then, just for the hell of it, he was going to kill him.

Naruto and Sasuke sat down in Biology and Raidou came towards them. The scarred man leaned forward to stare at the two of them, then smiled.

"Congratulations."

"How does everyone know?!" Naruto exploded, throwing his hands in the air. Raidou just chuckled.

"Please. I live with Genma. This is something I would _have_ to notice. Sasuke and Genma are so similar, it would take an idiot not to notice that satiated aura." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, looking him up and down. Sasuke just cocked an eyebrow. Naruto turned back to Raidou.

"I don't see it."

"Trust me, you will." Raidou insisted, laughing. He began walking down the stairs again to head back to the front when the door at the back slammed open.

"Raidou!" Genma bolted down the stairs before grabbing the scarred man's hand and yanking him back towards Naruto and Sasuke, forcing him to bend at the waist since he'd put his hand on Raidou's head. Raidou found his face dangerously close to Naruto's.

"Look! Look!" Genma pointed at Naruto and Sasuke. "Can you not feel the sated lust?! Can you not tell how blissfully _happy_ they are?!"

"That's nice, Genma." Raidou said slowly, eyeing Sasuke. It may have just been the angle at which he could see the raven, but Sasuke didn't look 'blissfully happy,' as Genma had put it. In fact, he looked really, really pissed off. Raidou wanted to run.

"I'm so glad it's over! How about a foursome?"

That was the last straw. Sasuke flew over Raidou, tackling Genma and sending the two of them crashing into the chairs on the other side of the aisle. The room went silent as everyone watched Sasuke attacking a professor.

"What?! What did I do?!" Genma asked, panicked, trying to fend Sasuke off.

"'I want a taste' my ass!" Sasuke hollered.

"You promised you wouldn't tell him!" Genma hollered, obviously talking to the blond.

He managed to kick Sasuke off him before scrambling to his feet and running down the stairs, smashing through the doors at the front, screaming like a schoolgirl. Sasuke was hot on his heels, practically ripping the door off its hinges as he slammed it open.

Naruto winced. He just prayed Genma was a fast runner.

* * *

Sasuke fell down in his seat in Geology, still steaming. Genma had apologized profusely and promised to keep his respective parts away from Naruto—this included his hands, his eyes and, of course, his member.

Sasuke had returned for the last five minutes of Biology—who'd have thought Genma could run so fast for so long—and was going to have to get the notes off Naruto. After that, he'd left to go to Geology. And now, there he sat, waiting for Gai.

Genma had sworn he also wouldn't tell anyone else about Sasuke and Naruto. That was the _last_ thing Sasuke needed. _Gai_ knowing. The raven shuddered just thinking about it.

He'd been lucky he was so mad at Genma, because if he wasn't, the long-haired man would've tried to convince Sasuke and Naruto to screw like rabbits right there in the lecture hall—Sasuke probably would've taken him up on it, too, although Naruto probably would've tried to run away. Sasuke smirked as he thought of his blond roommate, wishing he was there right now so he could molest him, class be damned.

As if conjured by his thoughts, Naruto walked into the class, scanning the room for Sasuke. He found him in the front row, as usual, and headed towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, confused, as Naruto held a slip of paper out to him.

"Kakashi gave this to me while I was heading back to the dorm and said it was urgent. He wanted me to give it to you right away."

Sasuke frowned as he took the slip of paper and opened it, Naruto peering over his shoulder so he could read it, too.

'_Consider this payback, guys. Have fun.'_

"Payback?" Sasuke asked the blond confused. "Payback for what? And what did he do?"

"Sasuke! Naruto! I have heard the good news!"

Sasuke grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt as the blond made a mad dash for the window, intending to jump out. _If I suffer, so do you,_ the raven thought as he hauled the blond back and pushed him into the seat beside him.

"I don't have my books! I have class in Hebb after this! I haven't eaten anything! I have a headache!" Naruto kept throwing out excuse after excuse, trying to pry Sasuke's hand off the back of his shirt. Of course, Sasuke didn't relinquish his hold.

"How wonderful that two youths such as yourselves have sealed your love with the ultimate bond! Sex!"

Naruto turned the tables on Sasuke, grabbing the other boy's wrist and holding it tightly. Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at the hand holding his wrist, and then Naruto's smirking face. _If I get wrenched out of my seat, so do you,_ the blond thought, his smirk widening.

"Let go!" Sasuke hollered, trying to wrench his arm free just as Gai grabbed Naruto and pulled him from his seat.

Sasuke followed.

Gai didn't even seem to notice Naruto was holding Sasuke's hand, believing the raven had stood up of his own accord. Laughing heartily, he pulled the two boys into a bear hug, crushing them together.

"I hate you." Sasuke gasped out as he was crushed against Gai's chest.

"Your fault." Naruto shot back.

Gai began swinging them from side to side, his arms still wrapped around the two boys, and tears streaming down his face.

"Oh, the bond of love is such a beautiful sight! It is more spectacular than the setting sun! More explosive than a supernova! More majestical than a unicorn!"

"Unicorn?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke. The raven just shook his head.

"I want the whole world to know of this momentous occasion where two youths have decided to put aside their differences to become friends, and then lovers! It is wonderful! I feel so exuberant! I feel full of love and energy! I want to run around the campus on my hands one hundred times!"

"Please do." Naruto choked out.

"We must do something tonight! We must _celebrate_! One bottle of tequila per sexual encounter! How many times have you done it?!"

Naruto shot Sasuke a look that promised he would never sleep with him again if Sasuke divulged that information. Sasuke wasn't willing to divulge it, even _without_ the threat.

That was when it happened. A shrill sound erupted throughout the building, and the overhead sprinklers turned on, sending water flying everywhere.

Naruto stared up at the ceiling. "Thank you!"

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	20. Itachi

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Kiba feigned death to get away from K. Masashi. Of course, he forgot to pretend **_**not**_** to breathe. That, and he also forgot that K. Masashi knows everything about him, since he created him.**

**A/N- :covers ears as Itachi Fan Club goes nuts: Enjoy. **

**

* * *

**

"No shit?" Kiba howled with laughter, hitting his knee.

"It's not funny." Sasuke glared. "I'd like to see _you_ spend even _one _class with Gai."

"I could do it." the brunette insisted.

Both of them were standing outside Hebb Theatre, waiting for Naruto. Sasuke had promised him he'd meet up with him after class, and Kiba had been on his way back to the dorm when he'd seen the raven. He'd decided to keep him company and the three of them could walk back together.

Kiba continued to make fun of Sasuke, and Sasuke continued to glare at him when the doors opened and people started piling out. Sasuke knew it wouldn't be hard to spot Naruto. Blond hair and an orange hoodie—hard to miss.

Someone brushed by him, coming way too close for comfort, and Sasuke stiffened, but his eyes widened as he heard words said in his ear.

"Hello, little brother."

Spinning around, Sasuke surveyed the crowd that was dispersing, his heart pounding in his throat. _Where is he?!_ Sasuke thought wildly, scanning the crowd. He caught sight of someone with long black hair, and bolted in that direction.

"Hey! Sasuke!" Kiba called after him, but the raven ignored him. He ran after the person, pushing past people. He stopped in the middle of the large square between Koerner and Main Library, looking around at the people.

Sasuke jumped as someone pushed past him, spinning around. Someone else walked into him from the side and he let out a shout, jumping away. Everyone's voice sounded too loud, and he seemed to have people walking into him from all sides. He started hyperventilating, clamping his hands over his ears and running in any direction he could. He had to get away. There were too many people.

He pushed past the crowd and emerged right in front of Buchanan. There was a stand there, obviously promoting some kind of club. They were making hot dogs, and it smelled like they were burning. Sasuke's throat started to close up as the smell hit his nose, making it hard for him to breathe. His eyes were locked on the people buying hot dogs. They were all dumping ketchup on them and the only thing Sasuke could see as the ketchup was put on the hot dogs was blood.

He saw one of the guys holding his hot dog covered in blood, wearing his father's face. He bit into it, blood dribbling down his chin and onto the ground. A large pool was forming at his feet.

Sasuke covered his mouth as he gagged and shoved past people in front of him, slamming into Buchanan. He rounded the corner, threw open the bathroom door, crashed into a stall and emptied his stomach in the toilet bowl.

He coughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, breathing hard as he stayed bent over the toilet. _Fuck, get a hold of yourself, _he thought, shaking his head. _You're just imagining things. Itachi isn't here, you'd know._

"You okay, dude?" Sasuke turned around to see some random guy looking in at him, slightly concerned. "Do you want me to call an ambulance or something?"

"No. Something didn't agree with me." Sasuke choked out as he began to close the stall door. "Thanks." He locked it once it was closed and flushed the toilet, the scent of vomit making him gag.

He took a deep breath and sat down on the floor, even though it was disgusting. He leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. He ensured he was still close enough to the toilet in case another wave of nausea hit him.

He took slow, even breaths, trying to calm himself down. He knew he shouldn't have freaked out like that, but he couldn't help it. First Itachi's voice in his ear, and then someone who resembled him walking away—

"Fuck!" Sasuke slammed his fist against the stall door, growling. "Fuck." He covered his face with his hands, trying to forget about Itachi.

* * *

Naruto paced restlessly in his room, his cell phone in his hand. He checked it again for what seemed like the tenth time in five seconds. Still no call. He shook his head, still pacing.

He'd called Kakashi. He'd called Genma. He'd called anyone he could think of, including friends and professors, but no one had seen or heard from Sasuke. Kiba had been the last one to see him, and after chasing the raven, he'd lost sight of him in front of Koerner.

So now, Naruto was in his room, three hours later, pacing. He hadn't gone to dinner; he hadn't gone to the bathroom. He hadn't gone anywhere, or done anything. According to Kiba, Sasuke had freaked out, and the only thing that meant was Itachi. Kakashi had thought so, too, which was why he'd practically hung up on Naruto, saying he was going to look for him.

Naruto looked at his phone again, willing it to ring. "Come on, Sasuke. Where are you?"

Nothing happened, so Naruto continued to pace.

His phone rang five minutes later and he almost dropped it he was fumbling to answer it so badly. He finally hit the answer button and put it to his ear.

"Hello?!"

"Still haven't heard from him?" Kakashi asked with a sigh on the other end.

"No. I haven't." Naruto's heart fell and he rubbed his face with his free hand. "Fuck. Where _is_ he?!"

"I've looked everywhere I can think of. Itachi's not supposed to be back in town, but—"

"Don't even go there!" Naruto snapped. "If Itachi did _anything_ to him, I will rip out his ribcage and use it as a hat!"

The lock clicked behind Naruto and he spun to look at the door. It opened, and Sasuke walked into the room, staring at floor and looking like shit.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hurled the phone across the room, not caring where it landed, if it landed, or if the ground opened up and swallowed it. He launched himself at Sasuke, hugging him tightly. "Where have you been?" he whispered against the other boy's shoulder. "Everyone was worried."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke replied, keeping his hands at his sides. Naruto frowned and pulled away, looking at Sasuke. His skin looked a little grey, he had bags under his eyes, and his clothing reeked of sweat and vomit.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, pulling Sasuke further into the room and closing the door. Sasuke went to his desk chair, sitting down in it. He frowned as he heard what sounded like yelling, and looked around.

"Naruto Uzumaki! What the fuck happened?! Answer me!" Sasuke bent down and reached under his desk, pulling out Naruto's phone and putting it to his ear.

"I'm fine, Kakashi. I'll talk to you later." The raven hung up on his guardian as Naruto came up behind him, hugging him from behind.

"What happened?" he asked again, worry etched in his voice.

"I just had a panic attack, that's all." Sasuke insisted, reaching up to clutch the arms wrapped around him.

"You 'just had a panic attack'?" Naruto asked, shaking his head. "How can you say that? You were gone for three hours. I was worried sick. Kakashi was worried sick. Heck, even _Kiba_ was worried sick."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke whispered. "I—thought Itachi was here." He felt Naruto's arms tighten around him.

"Itachi isn't here, Sasuke. You're still safe."

"I know." Sasuke replied. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go eat." He stood up, forcing the blond to relinquish his hold.

"Right." Naruto whispered as Sasuke opened the bedroom door and left. Naruto looked at the floor, feeling completely useless.

"Fuck."

Sasuke walked down the corridor, knocking on Kiba, Shino and Chouji's doors.

"Sasuke-bastard! You're back!" Kiba threw an arm around his shoulders, smiling. "We were worried, you damn asshole. Where the hell did you run off to?"

Sasuke shrugged Kiba's arm off and walked towards the stairs, his hands in his pockets. Kiba frowned, watching him go. He then turned as he heard Naruto and Sasuke's door close, the blond walking towards them with his own hands in his pockets.

"What happened?" Kiba asked as Naruto approached. The other boy just shook his head, brushing past them.

"I'll get Shikamaru. You guys go on ahead." Naruto exited the corridor and climbed the stairs to the third floor. Shino and Kiba shared a look before the two of them and Chouji rushed to catch up with Sasuke.

"Did you and Naruto have a fight?" Kiba inquired.

"No, we didn't." Sasuke replied, walking slowly towards the commons block.

"Well, did you break up or something?" Kiba asked again.

"No."

"Well, what the hell happened, then?" Sasuke turned to look at him. "Hey, I'm all for you being moody. God knows you're like this often enough, I've gotten used to it. What's _not_ cool is you upsetting Naruto."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow and turned to look behind them. He saw Shino and Chouji. No Naruto. _What the—? I couldn't have upset him; I haven't done anything,_ the raven thought with a frown.

"You seem confused." Shino commented as they entered the commons block and headed upstairs to the cafeteria. "Are you not aware that Naruto cares for you as much as you care for him? If one of you is upset, the other will be, too."

"Great." Sasuke muttered as he grabbed a tray. "So now I always have to be happy."

"You know how to be happy?" Kiba demanded, stunned. Shino shot him a look and the brunette disappeared, Chouji following suit. Shino seemed to have it all under control.

"No one is saying you aren't allowed to be upset." Shino corrected. "Just try not to act harshly towards the one person who is trying to make you feel better."

Sasuke listened to what Shino said, but he didn't really pay too much mind to it. He merely went about getting his food and was at the checkout when Naruto and Shikamaru entered, the two of them grabbing trays.

The first four boys took their seats, waiting for the other two to join them. By the time they did, Sasuke was already finished his meal. He sat at the table, his hands folded together and his elbows on the table, holding his clasped hands before his mouth. He stared blankly ahead, ignoring the conversation going on around him.

Kiba glanced at the raven before leaning towards Naruto to whisper to his friend, keeping his eyes on Sasuke. "Yo, Naruto."

"Mm?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of food.

"When did you guys last have sex?" Naruto spat out the food in his mouth. "Actually, why am I asking you this? It was yesterday, right? Around midnight?" Naruto was choking, hitting his chest wildly to get the food stuck in his oesophagus to go down, or come back up.

Shikamaru was staring at the blond, his lips slightly open and his fork in mid-air, halfway to his waiting mouth.

"Maybe he just needs to get laid. You know, relieve a little tension." Kiba continued, completely oblivious to Naruto's lack of air.

"Naruto's turning blue." Shikamaru stated slowly, his eyes still fixed on the blond.

"Huh?" Kiba turned away from Sasuke to look at Naruto. "Holy shit!" Kiba began thumping on the blond's back. Naruto's throat cleared up and he coughed a bit more before gulping down some water.

Sasuke didn't even notice.

Once Naruto had calmed down and regained his breath, Kiba put his arm around his shoulders and pulled Naruto close, his eyes on Sasuke, but still talking to Naruto. "I think he may be sexually frustrated. And if not, at least the sex will cheer him up."

"Kiba, this isn't something that sex will just make go away." Naruto whispered, lowering his gaze. He winced as he remembered the month before when he'd wanted to do just that. Sasuke had said no to him because it wasn't what he really wanted, so Naruto would do the same.

"Hey, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto's head snapped up as Kiba grinned at the raven, who'd turned to look at him. "Naruto here seems a little sexually frustrated."

"No I d—" Kiba punched him in the crotch under the table and Naruto's eyes widened as he let out a groan, hunching over and covering his member with both hands. Kiba had never averted his eyes from Sasuke.

"Maybe the two of you should head back to the room and, you know..." Kiba trailed off, coughing slightly at the end, but winking all the same. "No one will be there for you to bother."

"Don't you mean _you_ won't be there for them to bother?" Shino asked with a smirk.

"An advantage that I happen to be included in the group who will not be there. Whatever, shut up, Shino. What do you say, Sasuke?"

Naruto was still busy nursing his injured bits, unable to tell Kiba to just shut up. He was going to make the brunette pay _dearly_ for this one! _How are we supposed to have sex if he __**damages**__ my __**goods**_ Naruto thought angrily.

"Come on." His head shot up and he saw Sasuke standing beside him, holding out his hand. Naruto shot Kiba a look, the brunette giving him the thumbs up.

With a defeated sigh, Naruto took Sasuke's hand and allowed the raven to lead him out of the cafeteria and back to the dorm. They climbed the stairs slowly, reaching the room within seconds. Naruto unlocked it and entered, Sasuke following and closing the door behind him before shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I can't ask you to do anything since I spewed out that speech last month." Sasuke said as he gazed at the ground, the blond turning to face him. He sighed, shaking his head. "Shit, sometimes I screw myself over."

He looked up and found Naruto right in front of him. He was stunned at first, but got over it as Naruto hugged him tightly.

"Sometimes, just knowing someone's there is enough to make the pain go away." Naruto whispered. Sasuke closed his eyes and hugged the blond back.

* * *

"I can't believe we're skipping English." Naruto exclaimed as he punched in his code and opened the door to their dorm. "I've never skipped anything before. I feel kind of bad."

"Don't feel bad." Sasuke insisted as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, kissing his neck as he forced him to move forward. "This is much more important."

"Your horniness knows no bounds." Naruto teased as he broke free from Sasuke's grip and ran towards the stairs. Sasuke grinned and ran after him.

A week after the incident, and everything was back to normal. Sasuke had practically forgotten all about it, but just because it was his luck, that was soon about to change.

As he climbed the stairs after Naruto, he felt a chill run down his spine and spun around, looking down the stairwell. He saw nothing, and could hear no one just beyond the door in the entranceway. He walked down two steps, listening, but heard nothing.

"Sasuke, come on!" Naruto appeared beside him again, grabbing his arm. "We've only got an hour before I have to head off to Anatomy!"

"Can't you skip it?" Sasuke asked as he shook off the feeling and continued up the stairs with Naruto.

"You're such a bad influence! I'm not skipping another class!" he insisted as he opened their door. Sasuke spun him around, kissing his neck as he kicked the door shut. Naruto let out a small moan.

"But it's with Genma." Sasuke breathed along the blond's neck. "Stupid. Perverted. Good for nothing. Genma."

"That's..." Naruto panted slightly, his body already reacting to such a small action, "not very nice."

"Whoever said I was nice?" Sasuke asked, pulling off the blond's shirt.

Beyond the door, a solitary figure listened to the events occurring within. He frowned in distaste, ashamed of the boy beyond the door. He heard a door down the corridor open and turned to see who it was. Three boys entered the corridor from the stairwell, talking amongst themselves.

"So stupid." Kiba laughed. "They decide to skip the _one_ day he cancels class. Man, that's just too funny, fuck."

"Indeed." Shino replied. "You are aware that we shall be hearing them for the next hour then, right?"

"Fuck!" Kiba exclaimed, clutching his head. "Oh, man, I didn't even _think_ about that!"

"Personally, I wear headphones and crank up my music." Shino informed as he unlocked his door and entered his room.

"Headphones!" Kiba exclaimed, grinning. "Shino, my man, I like the way you think."

"I'm going to Shikamaru's room. There's more insulation between the floors, so the sound doesn't carry as much." Chouji commented as he dropped off his bag and closed his door.

"Dude! Best idea ever, fuck! Wait for me, I'll grab some music and we can header. I'll double wammy their noise!" Just then, the moaning started. "Gah! Must hurry!" Kiba flew into his room, practically taking it apart as he looked for his I-Pod. He re-emerged with it, closing his door. "Right, let's header!"

Chouji wasn't looking at Kiba, though. He was staring down the corridor, frowning at the person who was currently positioned in front of Naruto and Sasuke's door. Kiba followed his gaze, and a frown marred his own face.

"Oi, what are you, some kind of pervert?" Kiba snapped at him.

The man turned his head, locking cold, dark eyes with Kiba. The brunette took an involuntary step back, and his hand came up to clutch his throat. That one look made him feel like he couldn't breathe.

"I am a relative." was the man's simple reply before he turned back to stare at Naruto and Sasuke's door.

Chouji put his hand on Kiba's shoulder but the brunette shrugged it off. "Forget it. Go on without me. I'll stay here." Kiba disappeared into his room, closing his door. Chouji just cast one last glance at the man positioned down the hall before disappearing upstairs.

Shikamaru and Chouji returned a few minutes later, knocking on Shino and Kiba's doors to ask if they wanted to go to the Village. Shino accepted the invitation, Kiba did not.

"I want to keep an eye on this guy. You know, in case he's some kind of weirdo." he whispered to them, casting glances down the corridor. The man still hadn't moved.

"Don't do anything stupid." Shino stated as the three of them left and Kiba closed his door.

All was silent—for the most part, anyway, ignoring the moaning, groaning and creaking of the bed in 212—for the next hour. And then, everything went silent completely, Naruto and Sasuke getting changed again so the blond could head to class.

Naruto kissed Sasuke one last time before heading for the door. "I'll see you when I get back."

Sasuke groaned, grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him back, hugging him.

"Skip."

"No, I can't." the blond insisted, smiling. "I have to go."

"No." Sasuke whined.

"Sasuke, come on. I'll see you as soon as my class ends, I promise. I'll even go to Sociology and Sport with you."

"Fine." Sasuke let him go. "If class is more important than me, off with you." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Geez, Sasuke, isn't ravishing me eight times a day enough?" Naruto asked as he picked up his bag.

"No." The raven sniffed. "I want to up it to at _least_ ten before the end of the month."

Naruto barked out a laugh as he shook his head. "I'll see you later, you sex-maniac." He opened the door, but stopped. Someone was standing in front of him. "Oh, hi. Did you need something?" That was when Naruto saw the gun, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind who this was.

Unconcerned for his own safety, the blond threw his bag into the man's face, turning to lunge at the raven to protect him.

"Sasuke!"

A gunshot rang out.

* * *

**A/N: A little humour since the chapter was oh-so-happy :cough cough: My friend (she lives above me and to the right, actually, heh) drew me a pic based on chapter... I think it's nine. I'm pretty sure it's nine. If you want to check it out, it's here:  
www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 31989002/  
(You have to take out the spaces)  
Enjoy :)**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	21. Tears of Blood

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Even though Kiba isn't mine, he wishes he was, much to K. Masashi's discontent. If he would just let it go, and allow Kiba to run away and come to me, we'd all be much happier, but **_**noooooooo**_

**A/N: Heh, I knew having Itachi in this was a bad idea. I died from all the fangirl squeals, lol. **

**Also, the chapter's title is something my muse always says, not me. She's crazy. She says this when she explains she was laughing too hard. ie: "It was so funny I was crying tears of blood!" "That's nice..." :inches away:**

* * *

_Previously:  
Naruto opened the door, but stopped. Someone was standing in front of him. "Oh, hi. Did you need something?" That was when Naruto saw the gun, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind who this was.  
Unconcerned for his own safety, the blond threw his bag into the man's face, turning to lunge at the raven to protect him.  
"Sasuke!"  
A gunshot rang out._

* * *

Sasuke jumped as he heard the gunshot, blood spattering onto him as Naruto fell to the floor, a large pool of blood starting to form. The raven stared down at the gruesome scene before him wide-eyed.

_This is a dream,_ he insisted to himself. _Any minute now, I'm going to wake up. Naruto will be right beside me._

"This is a dream." he whispered aloud.

"No, little brother." Itachi said in his dispassionate voice. "This time, it's _not_ a dream."

"Naruto, Sas—" Itachi aimed sideways and Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard two more shots. "Jesus! Fuck!" Sasuke almost sighed. If Kiba was swearing, he was okay.

Itachi's eyes fixed on his younger brother again, Sasuke unable to move. "It's been a long time."

_Move! Move, dammit!_ Sasuke's inner self was screaming at him, but he couldn't get his legs to obey.

Down the corridor, Kotetsu flew through the door, having heard the shots from above. He could see Itachi standing in the corridor, wearing a long black coat, and aiming a gun into Naruto and Sasuke's room.

Kotetsu hollered, "Hey!" before really thinking about the fact that there was nothing he could do against an armed man. He didn't slow as he neared the elder Uchiha, Itachi slowly turning to him.

Dispassionately, he pointed his gun at Kotetsu, and fired without really bothering to aim. Kotetsu cried out as his shoulder exploded, blood spattering on his face and the walls. He fell to the ground, unconscious from the pain.

Itachi turned back to his younger brother, betraying no emotion as he saw the gun in his sibling's hand. Sasuke's phone was open on the floor, indicating he'd dialled a number and just let the person on the other end hear what was going on.

"_I fucking __**hate**__ you!"_ Sasuke hollered angrily at his brother.

"Hate is such a strong word, little brother."

Itachi took a step into the room and Sasuke snapped. With an enraged cry, tears streaming down his face, he emptied his clip into Itachi's chest. The elder boy didn't even jerk as the bullets hit him.

Sasuke's clip ran dry, but he kept pulling the trigger, breathing hard. _Why-why is Itachi still standing?_

"Foolish little brother." Itachi knocked on his chest and Sasuke's eyes widened. He'd just emptied his entire clip onto a bullet-proof vest. Fuck!

Itachi walked into the room, looking down at Naruto. He forced his foot under the blond's body, rolling him onto his back. Naruto followed the motion limply, his front drenched in blood from the through-and-through shot.

"Who was he to you?" Itachi asked Sasuke, as if he actually cared. "A roommate?" He lightly kicked Naruto's face so his head rolled to the side. "A friend?" He nudged Naruto in the stomach with his foot. "Or maybe, a lover?" He stomped down on the wound in Naruto's chest, and Sasuke had had enough.

The younger boy lunged at Itachi and the elder Uchiha raised his gun. Sasuke stumbled to a halt as Itachi fired, feeling blood running down his face. Reaching up, he touched the wound. It was just a scratch. Itachi could've killed him, but—why hadn't he?

"You look confused, little brother." Itachi stated. "Why would I kill you, when making you suffer is so much more sadistic? I'm killing you in the worst way. I'm working on your mind. I can just get rid of everyone you care about. Every friend, every lover, every guardian. I will make you suffer so much that I will become the only thing you ever think about. I will turn you into a mindless avenger. And then, _then_ we will fight, and see who between us deserves the name Uchiha."

"Itachi!" Sasuke heard the enraged cry from down the corridor.

Itachi exited the room, looking down the corridor at Kakashi. The silver-haired man had his gun drawn and barrelled towards Itachi, jumping over the unconscious Kotetsu. He fired at the Uchiha, hitting him twice in the chest and three times in the arms. Itachi grunted as the bullets bit into his unprotected arms, but made no other sound.

He raised his own gun and shot at Kakashi, the older man cursing as a bullet bit into his left side, and then another hit him in the right arm. He didn't stop, though. He flew into Itachi, tackling the other man to the ground and holding him down. Calmly, Itachi reached up and dug his finger into the wound in Kakashi's side. Kakashi screamed, blind with pain.

Itachi easily pushed Kakashi off himself and stood up, looking in at his brother.

"Goodbye, little brother. I'll see you soon."

Sirens were heard nearby as Itachi turned and fled.

Seconds passed and Kiba stumbled from his room, a shirt wrapped around his bleeding leg.

"Fuck!" He limped to Kakashi. "Kakashi, are you okay?"

"I'll live, check the other guy." He motioned Kotetsu as he swallowed his pain and stood up. He had to check on Sasuke and Naruto.

Kakashi stumbled into the room, clutching his bleeding side. Sasuke looked fine apart from a graze on his temple, but he had a blank look on his face as he stared at the floor. Kakashi followed his gaze and his eyes widened.

"Oh my God, Naruto!" Ignoring his pain, Kakashi fell down beside the blond, covering the wound with both hands. _Shit, he's not gonna make it,_ Kakashi thought wildly. "Sasuke, call an ambulance!" he ordered.

The raven didn't move.

Kakashi looked up at him. "Sasuke! Call an ambulance!"

Still, the raven didn't move. He just kept staring at the growing pool of blood that surrounded Naruto.

* * *

Kiba bit his nails as he paced up and down the corridor of second floor Robson. His shoe made a disgusting 'squish' sound every time he stepped in the puddle of Kotetsu's blood, which had soaked into the carpet, but he ignored it.

Kotetsu was fine—well, he had a huge hole in his shoulder, but life-wise, he was fine. Kakashi and Sasuke were also fine. Kiba himself was fine. The only person no one knew about was Naruto.

"Kiba, you should sit down. You're bleeding through your bandages." Shino insisted, sitting on the floor in front of Sasuke and Naruto's door.

The brunette looked down at his torn jeans—torn so that the paramedics could get to his wound—and sure enough, he was bleeding through his bandages.

"I can't sit down." Kiba insisted, still pacing. "I'm too worried."

"We're _all_ worried." Shikamaru insisted.

"You weren't here!" Kiba rounded on him angrily. "You didn't—you didn't _see_ how pale he was... how much blood there was..." Kiba stood in the middle of the corridor, his eyes glazed as he recalled the memory. "He-he was so..." He couldn't continue.

Chouji, Shikamaru and Shino shared a look. They didn't know what to do. They'd heard the story from Kiba and seen his wound, but like he said, they hadn't been there. They were worried about Naruto, but they honestly didn't know how worried they should be. Was Kiba exaggerating, or was it really as bad—or even worse—than the boy was saying?

The door at the end of the corridor opened and they all turned to it, seeing Sasuke and Kakashi. The older man had one arm in a sling and his shirt was open, having been cut down the middle, exposing the gauze wrapping his side.

Sasuke only had a bandage on his head, covering his temple. The raven had a blank look on his face, not even seeing the boys in front of him.

Chouji, Shikamaru and Shino stood up as he neared them. His key was out and he began to push it into his lock when Kiba grabbed his wrist, the suspense killing him.

"Naruto. How is he?"

Something broke within Sasuke and he fell to his knees, crying into his hands. The four boys stared on in horror.

"He didn't make it." Kakashi whispered. "I'm sorry."

Kiba stared at Kakashi in shock before turning around and walking back to his room in a daze. Shino went after him, his heart wrenching in his chest.

Sasuke was still curled up on the floor, Chouji and Shikamaru staring at him.

"I'll stay with him tonight." Shikamaru whispered, motioning Sasuke. "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Thanks." Kakashi replied. "They gave me a sedative for him to make him sleep." He handed Shikamaru a bottle of pills. "I'm sorry."

Kakashi left, unable to even offer help in getting Sasuke into bed because of his arm.

Chouji got the door open and the two of them manoeuvred the still crying boy into the room.

"Why are you taking everything from me?" Sasuke continued to sob as the two boys got him ready for bed. They didn't understand what he meant, but neither thought it smart to ask.

"Here, Sasuke. Take this." Shikamaru handed him a pill, forcing him to take it. A few minutes later, the raven was asleep.

"I'm going to wake up soon, right?" Chouji whispered.

"I don't think anyone's waking up from this nightmare."

* * *

Tsunade forbade anyone to come to the funeral the next day, not wanting random people to show up and cheer that the Uzumaki child was dead. Not even his friends were allowed to come. Especially not Sasuke. Tsunade held him responsible, and had almost thrown him out of UBC. The only thing that had stopped her was Jiraiya.

The newspapers and news channels had a field day, discussing the irony that someone who was bound to become a murderer had been killed by another murderer. Sasuke broke the television on second when he'd walked in on someone watching the news and heard that. The boy in there had never run away so fast.

Kiba had locked himself in his room and only Shino having scaled the outside wall to check through his window reassured them that he hadn't done anything stupid. (1) Sasuke wasn't allowed to close his door at all unless someone was in the room with him.

Chouji and Shikamaru tended to alternate since Shino had his hands full with Kiba. The other boy was almost as upset as Sasuke, not that anyone could blame him. He and Naruto had been close, and more than once people had teased Kiba of being Naruto's guard dog.

Hinata had come by and she and Shino had sat outside Kiba's door, trying to convince him to come out. Shikamaru and Chouji had it easier with Sasuke since all he did was sit on his bed, staring at Naruto's blood-soaked shirt. It had been thrown to the ground when the paramedics entered, cutting it off quickly to get it out of the way.

When Naruto had been buried in the late afternoon, and the funeral—which only Tsunade and Jiraiya could attend—had passed, Sasuke had gotten dressed and left. Shikamaru had followed him all the way to the front of the graveyard, but hadn't ventured inside. He wanted to leave Sasuke alone for a little while, not even beginning to imagine how hard this was for the raven. His parents had been taken away from him, and now his lover, too.

Sasuke reached the newly covered grave, his eyes stinging as he regarded the large tombstone.

'Naruto Uzumaki  
Who received little love  
And gave all his heart in return.'

The raven found it appropriate. He'd died saving him, after all. Sasuke bent down in front of the grave, clutching either side of the tombstone and resting his forehead against the cool stone.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." he whispered, his voice shaking as tears fell across his cheeks. "God, I'm _so_ sorry! I wish I could take it back. I wish I'd never told you anything. Fuck, if I'd never met you this wouldn't have happened." Sasuke rubbed his forehead against the tombstone, feeling the rough stone scratching his skin. "Why does he always take everything from me?" he sobbed, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "Fuck."

Itachi watched the scene before him with satisfaction, hiding in a tree nearby. This boy seemed important enough that Itachi didn't think he'd even need to bother with Kakashi. Sasuke was a wreck; he'd never seen his brother cry so much before. Granted, he'd run off before he could see how his parents' deaths had affected his younger brother, but this just seemed to be a mixture of the two painful events all rolled into one.

Itachi found himself licking his lips, drinking in the sorrow radiating off his brother as if it were wine. This kind of pain was the best kind of pain. He could've killed Sasuke outright, or even tortured him a little bit physically, but this—no, this was _so_ much better. It was more satisfying.

Itachi wanted his brother to be consumed with hatred; he wanted his brother to be exactly the way he'd been forced to be as a child. He wanted Sasuke to hate him as much as he'd hated their parents. He wanted Sasuke to _pay_!

Having had enough of Sasuke's pain, the elder Uchiha nimbly jumped off the branch, wearing a long black coat and a hat. He exited the graveyard, walking past the talking police officers easily. He found the police incompetent, and this proved it. Here he was, a murderer, and they didn't even notice him walking away.

Back at Naruto's tombstone, Sasuke remained there, crying, for another ten minutes before finally standing up. He kissed his fingers before brushing them lovingly along the top of Naruto's tombstone.

"I'll see you soon, moron." he whispered before turning and heading back for Shikamaru.

The two returned to campus in silence, and when Sasuke got to his room, Chouji informed him that Tsunade had given him a few weeks of personal leave from school. He would get reimbursed for his uncompleted second semester, and would be allowed to take the final exams if he so wished, but for now, he was to go home.

Sasuke began to pack without a word, filling a suitcase with his clothes and daily necessities. He went to Naruto's half of the room and grabbed two sets of keys off the blond's shelf. Shikamaru and Chouji watched on in silence, not daring to say anything.

"We'll see you later, Sasuke." Shikamaru said as the other boy zipped up his suitcase and picked up his backpack and laptop carrier. "We're around if you need us."

"Bye." Sasuke said. He would give them that much. They _were_ his friends.

He left the room and walked down the corridor with his bag. He got everything down the stairs and then left the building, heading for the parking lot. As he neared the sleek black car, he hit the auto-lock and the car beeped, its lights flashing. He opened the trunk and hauled all of his stuff inside before slamming it shut and getting into the car.

He put the key in the ignition and the second the car started, the small screen popped out, just like all the other times.

"_Hello, Naruto. Can I help you today?"_

Sasuke sniffed as he backed out of the parking space.

"Display map with quickest route from UBC to Naruto's house."

"_Mapping easiest route from University of British Columbia to 1324 Merkley Crescent."_

Sasuke glanced at the map, noting the red line. He followed the directions all the way to the highway, easily making his way to Mission. Once there, he went to Naruto's house, arriving an hour and a half later. He was upset he couldn't drive like Naruto, all hell-on-wheels. He would've gotten there faster.

He parked the car on the cobblestone drive and then exited it, opening the trunk and pulling out his backpack. He could get the rest later. He hit the auto-lock as he headed for the door and tried the knob. It was locked. He pulled the second set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, entering the house. He kicked off his shoes as he walked into the entranceway, putting his bag down on the floor.

"Took you long enough."

* * *

(1) Yes, those walls are scale-able. I've seen people do it. I was scared they were going to die, but nevertheless, it's possible.

* * *

**A/N: Please don't hurt me. Sorry this is so short, but the author in me demanded I leave it as a cliffhanger :3**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	22. Dead Man Walking

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi! I do **_**not**_** want Kiba! Or any of your other characters! But especially **_**NOT**_** Kiba!  
:Reverse psychology... this'll get him... It worked for Rock Lee:**

**A/N: Oh come on, I update every day! You people can take a cliffhanger :evil laugh: If I didn't update for, like, a week or something, **_**then**_** you can yell at me, lol. I hope it never gets to that... I hate people who take forever to update, which is why I try and do it every day...**

**PS: Most of you people are too damn smart for your own good! lol **

**Most notably, though, these two:**

**GoTrinba: You are freakishly scary... You hacked into my brain, didn't you? DON'T DENY IT, I KNOW YOU DID!**

**Snotty Chim-Chim: You are AMAZINGLY observant! My hat goes off to you! (PS: This is hardly mid-story. I look at it more as nearing its end, actually...)**

_**

* * *

**_

_Previously:  
He parked the car on the cobblestone drive and then exited it, opening the trunk and pulling out his backpack. He could get the rest later. He hit the auto-lock as he headed for the door and tried the knob. It was locked. He pulled the second set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, entering the house. He kicked off his shoes as he walked into the entranceway, putting his bag down on the floor.  
_"_Took you long enough."_

* * *

"Took you long enough." a voice rang out down the corridor as Sasuke closed the door. He shook his head, dropping the two sets of keys on the wooden table.

"You shouldn't be standing."

"I'm _fine_, dammit! Stop worrying, bastard."

"What do you _mean_ stop worrying?" Sasuke demanded angrily. "I just came from your fucking tombstone, don't tell me to stop worrying!"

Naruto's mouth snapped shut and he looked at the ground, wincing.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Sasuke asked, confused. "You have nothing to be sorry about. _I'm_ the one who should be sorry."

Naruto wrapped his arms around himself, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Things are going to change now, huh?"

"You think?" Sasuke inquired. Naruto shot him a look and the raven sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Sorry seems to be the word of the day." Sasuke nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"How are you feeling?"

"How do you think?" Naruto gave him a poignant look.

"Right."

"Where is he?"

"Itachi?"

"Who else?" Naruto asked with a sigh.

"Don't know. Not here, that's for sure." Sasuke replied, walking to the blond and hugging him. Naruto sighed again, wrapping his own arms around his boyfriend.

"Promise me." Sasuke whispered, unconsciously tightening his hold on the blond. "Promise me you'll never do that again."

"I can't promise you that." Naruto whispered.

The two stood in silence for a long while before Naruto sighed again.

"This really sucks." he said softly.

"What does?" Sasuke asked.

"Lying to everyone." Naruto clarified. "They're going to kill me for _real_ when they find out I'm alive."

"Yeah, well, I won't let them." He tightened his hold on the blond, aware of how close he'd been to losing him.

"So everyone bought it?" Sasuke pulled away, taking Naruto's hand and kissing it.

"Yeah, everyone bought it."

"Tsunade said you cried a lot. I'm impressed." Naruto teased as he walked backwards, pulling Sasuke along, since the raven still held his hand.

"All I had to do was think of how close I came to losing you." Sasuke admitted.

* * *

**One day previously.**

Sasuke stared down blankly at the shirt in his hands. It was covered in blood, and he didn't look any better. He'd been silent since he'd arrived at the hospital, and hadn't even flinched or anything when his wound had been treated. All he'd done was stare at the shirt that had been thrown out of the way when the paramedics had cut it off Naruto in their bedroom before whisking the blond away.

Kakashi sat down beside him, offering him a cup of water. The raven didn't even glance at him. He would've been worried about his guardian had Kakashi not been alive and well when the paramedics came, worrying more about Naruto than himself. Sasuke was thankful, because he would've just forced his heart to stop beating if he'd lost Naruto _and_ Kakashi.

"Sasuke, drink this. Come on." Kakashi pried one of Sasuke's hands from Naruto's shirt and forced him to hold the water. Sasuke did so, but he didn't drink it.

The doors at the end of the corridor slammed open before, "You!" was shrieked down the corridor. Kakashi looked up and his eyes widened as he saw Tsunade, her finger pointing at Sasuke. Jiraiya was right behind her, followed by the same police officer that had come into Tsunade's office while Kakashi had been there.

Tsunade appeared in front of Sasuke and slapped him across the face. Hard. Sasuke didn't even react, merely letting the cup of water he didn't want fall from his hand, splashing water across the floor. His face turned back slowly to continue staring down at the shirt. Jiraiya had grabbed Tsunade to stop her from hitting him again.

"You _promised_ nothing would happen to him!" the woman exclaimed, tears streaming down her face. "You said he was going to be okay!"

"Tsunade. Tsunade, Tsunade, sh. It's okay." Jiraiya pulled his sister to him, despite her struggles, and hugged her tightly. "Sh, it's okay." The older woman sobbed into his shoulder, Jiraiya running his hand soothingly up and down her back.

Keita went to the front desk to ask about Naruto, but nobody had any news for him, so he returned to the others. He was clenching his jaw so he wouldn't cry, knowing it would be inappropriate since he was supposed to be on duty. He glanced at Tsunade and felt his heart wrench. His heart plain fell out of his chest when he looked down at Sasuke. He was just—sitting there. Staring at a torn and bloody shirt.

Keita bent down in front of Sasuke, trying to catch the boy's eyes. Sasuke didn't look at him.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" he inquired.

"He won't speak." Keita looked at Kakashi. "He hasn't spoken since his brother left."

Keita leaned forward and brushed some of Sasuke's hair out of his face, looking at his covered wound. "Looks small."

"He got off the luckiest." Kakashi replied, his eyes on Sasuke. "I'm suspecting there's a reason for it, but he won't say why."

They all looked up as a doctor neared them, except Tsunade, whose face was still buried in Jiraiya's chest. Kakashi glanced at her nametag, noting her name was Shizune Kimeda.

"Tsunade?" she inquired. The blonde turned around like rapid fire.

"How is he, Shizune?" she demanded, looking as if she was restraining from grabbing the other woman's shoulders and shaking her.

The doctor sighed, running one hand along her forehead, as if wiping off sweat. "He's stable. It was a close call, but the bullet just barely missed his heart. He lost a lot of blood, so we had to transfuse him for a long time, but he should be fine." Sasuke's head whipped up at these words.

Tsunade sank to her knees, crying into her hands. Jiraiya bent down beside her, hugging her tightly.

"Thank God." Keita whispered, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall.

"He's going to live?" Kakashi turned to Sasuke. It was the first thing he'd said since Itachi had left.

The doctor nodded the affirmative. "Yes, he's going to live."

She put her hand on Tsunade's shoulder as she passed her old friend, and then continued down the corridor to tend to another patient.

The five of them stayed in the waiting room for the rest of the day and well into the night. It was only because Tsunade used to work there and everyone knew her that the group hadn't been kicked out. When it was nearing midnight, Shizune came back to them, noting that all of them looked close to exhaustion, but none were sleeping.

"Tsunade?" The blonde looked up at her. "He's awake if you'd like to see him."

Sasuke was on his feet before anyone else, Shizune staring at him, startled.

"If you even try to tell him he can't go, he might kill you." Kakashi warned, standing up and putting his uninjured hand on Sasuke's shoulder. The doctor merely nodded before leading the way for the five visitors. She opened a door and Sasuke walked in briskly, his eyes fixing with the blond's.

Naruto was barely conscious, his eyes at half-mast. He had a respirator, and an IV leading from his hand. The blankets stopped just above his navel, showing some of his tattoo, and his entire torso was wrapped in heavy gauze. Sasuke didn't even want to ask how many stitches he had.

The blond held out his hand to Sasuke and the raven hurried to him, grabbing it tightly.

"You're okay." the blond sounded relieved.

"Are you crazy, think about yourself, moron." Sasuke couldn't make it sound angry, no matter how hard he tried. Naruto was worried about him when he got a fucking bullet through the chest!

"You must be Sasuke." He turned to the doctor. "You were the first thing he asked about when he woke up."

"Naruto!" Tsunade finally pulled free from Jiraiya, who'd been holding her back so Sasuke could have a few seconds. She refrained from jumping on him, instead grabbing his other hand and clutching it tightly.

"Hey, old hag." he wheezed out.

"Are you okay?" She ran her hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. The blond let out a small laugh, and then winced.

"I've been better. But hey, new scar to add to my collection." He tried to smile, but he couldn't quite manage.

"Don't say stupid things like that, you almost died!" Tsunade shrieked.

"Tsunade, please." Shizune closed the door once the three men had entered. "This _is_ a hospital."

The older woman didn't apologize, but lowered her voice as she continued, "I knew keeping you as his roommate was a bad idea."

"Tsunade, I jumped in front of Sasuke." the blond insisted. Tsunade's head snapped back and Kakashi's eyebrows flew into his hairline.

"_You __**what**__?"_ Tsunade forgot to be quiet.

Naruto winced at the volume. "This wasn't Sasuke's fault, it was my choice."

"Fantastic." Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Sasuke's suicidalness has rubbed off on Naruto."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect someone you love." Keita insisted, crossing his arms. He was a police officer, he understood what Naruto had done more than anyone.

"This still leaves us with a problem." Everyone turned to Kakashi as he spoke. "Itachi will find out sooner or later that Naruto's still alive. Based on what happened, it seems like Itachi's target isn't Sasuke, but everyone he cares about."

Sasuke looked away from Kakashi. Naruto's hand tightened around his and he looked into the blond's loving eyes.

"Am I right?" Kakashi inquired.

"Yeah." Sasuke whispered.

Jiraiya managed to cover Tsunade's mouth before she exploded. Keita rubbed the back of his head, wincing, and Kakashi just sighed.

"This will be problematic." Kakashi whispered.

"If he finds out Naruto is still alive, he'll come after him." Jiraiya said with a sigh.

"Not unless Naruto's dead." They all turned to Keita. He shrugged. "We do things like this all the time. If we send Naruto back home, and have Sasuke do some amazing acting, we can convince everyone he's dead. Sasuke can just sever ties with his other friends until we catch Itachi, that way no one but Kakashi will be in danger. If we have someone watching Kakashi at all times, we'll either eventually catch Itachi, or kill him. In case Itachi manages to find out Naruto's still alive, some of the guys and I can keep watch on him to make sure Itachi doesn't show up at Naruto's."

"You want us to pretend Naruto's dead?" Jiraiya said slowly.

"Think about it." Keita insisted. "The Uzumaki child. It would be in _all_ the papers. Have a private funeral with only you and Tsunade present, and then make sure Itachi sees Sasuke bawling his eyes out later or something. It's the perfect way to ensure he doesn't find out about Naruto. Once Itachi is satisfied, he'll probably leave town for a bit, lay low. Sasuke can just go to Mission and stay with Naruto for a while. Everyone at school will think he went home, overcome with grief."

Everyone turned to look at the blond. It was his life, after all. He pondered it for a few minutes before nodding.

"All right, I'll do it. I'll give you some money for the funeral arrangements." he told Tsunade and Jiraiya. "You should probably get the arrangements done tomorrow morning so it can happen tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll notify the papers." Shizune offered. "It'll be more believable if a doctor does it."

"I'll bring the cruiser around the front. We should get Naruto into some different clothes and do something to his hair. I'll handcuff him and bring him out as if he's being arrested so no one recognizes him and bring him back to Mission." He turned to Naruto. "Still got your spare hidden in the tree in your backyard?" The blond narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, and since you advertised it, I'll have to move it, now."

"All right, everything is set, then." Kakashi felt so relieved everything was going to be okay. All he had to worry about now was himself. He made a mental note to tell Iruka not to come by. In fact, Kakashi was thinking about taking a few days off and going back to Victoria. He'd be safer there, since Itachi didn't know where he and Sasuke _actually_ lived.

"I guess we should be going." Tsunade said as she stood up. She turned to Sasuke. "You, start the waterworks. If your brother's outside, I want this to be believable." Tears were already welling in her own eyes as she walked out of the room, Jiraiya following her.

Sasuke turned back to Naruto, tears welling in his eyes without him even having to try. Seeing Naruto like that, and knowing it was his fault...

"Don't." Sasuke frowned, confused at Naruto's insistence. "Don't blame yourself for this, Sasuke. You didn't ask to have a fucked up brother." Sasuke leaned over, kissing Naruto lightly on the forehead before carefully hugging him.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Sasuke whispered.

"I'm not _that_ good of a catch." Naruto insisted, chuckling slightly and wincing again. Sasuke pulled away.

"Yes, you are."

"Come on, Sasuke." Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder and turned him, leading him to the door. "We have some acting to do."

"Don't forget, you tell _no one_ Naruto is still alive." Keita said authoritatively to them.

"I know."

"Wait." They turned to Shizune as she pulled some pills out of her pocket. "If you two are as close as you seem, I've given these pills out numerous times to people who've lost loved ones." She handed the bottle to Kakashi, who inspected it.

"What are they?"

"They're a mild sedative. They'll send him straight to sleep. It's common to give it to people who are in grief. It stops them from doing anything stupid."

Kakashi nodded before pocketing them, and waved slightly to Naruto before exiting the room with Sasuke.

Sasuke and Kakashi headed towards the elevator, Sasuke trying to keep the same blank look on his face he'd had until he'd heard news about Naruto being okay. He kept this face on as they walked through the hospital, went down the elevator, and exited the building, heading for the parking lot. He stopped in front of Kakashi's car before forcing himself to think of Naruto dying. This brought tears to his eyes easily and he broke down just thinking about it, sinking to his knees and crying into his hands. Kakashi bent down beside him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

In a car two rows behind them, Itachi watched the scene with satisfaction before flicking a cigarette out his open window and peeling out of the parking lot.

* * *

**Present.**

Naruto tugged Sasuke towards the living room, sitting down on the couch and pulling Sasuke down beside him. He let out a sigh as he snuggled up to the raven, wincing as his stitches protested the movement. He'd always been a fast healer, though, so he wasn't worried.

"It kind of sucks that we might not make it back for finals. Means we'll have to take first year all over again."

"Kind of sucks?" Sasuke inquired, cocking an eyebrow. "I don't know about you, but personally, I prefer you _living_." Naruto laughed.

"Fair enough." Naruto sighed. "So, we have as long as it takes for them to find Itachi. What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, depending on how long it takes," Sasuke grinned down at his boyfriend, "if you're healed before he's caught, you _do_ still owe me my Christmas present. I think we should have sex in every room of the house."

Naruto grinned. "Starting with the living room, right?"

"I was thinking more your bedroom, personally." Sasuke mused.

"But it's so _far_." Sasuke frowned, looking down at Naruto.

The blond leaned up, brushing his lips against Sasuke's. The simple gesture went straight to Sasuke's groin and he moaned, opening his mouth to pull Naruto's lower lip between his teeth, sucking on it.

The blond grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt as he shifted, lying down on the couch and pulling the raven down with him so he was lying on top.

Sasuke pulled away from the kiss, staring down into the blue eyes he was so scared he'd never see again, and running his hand along one scarred cheek. "Are you sure? You're injured."

"I'll be fine." Naruto whispered, pulling Sasuke back to him with his hand behind the raven's neck, and kissing him.

* * *

Sasuke stirred slightly, an annoying crick in his neck forcing his eyes open. The first thing he saw was a shoulder. He pushed himself up and stared down at Naruto's still-sleeping form. Glancing at his watch, he noted it had only been about two hours since they'd done the dirty in Naruto's living room.

Sitting up more, he winced as he noticed blood seeping through the front of Naruto's bandages. That was bad.

"_I know you're happy he's alive, but I don't want you doing anything physical for __**at least**__ a week. Got it, Uchiha?" _Tsunade's voice sounded in his head.

"_I understand."_ Sasuke had replied.

The raven sighed. Yes, he _had_ understood. Unfortunately, his libido was harder to convince.

Sasuke stood up and padded to the front door in his socks. He would've taken Naruto to the hospital, but the blond wasn't allowed to leave the house, in case he was seen.

Sasuke opened the front door, looking through the darkness. "Keita?" he whispered.

The police officer came out of the shadows, rubbing his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

"It's all very nice you had a good night, Sasuke, but you could've put some clothes on." Sasuke frowned and looked down. He blushed at his state of undress, covering his crotch with both hands.

"I forgot I was naked." he mumbled. "I need some bandages."

"I suspected you did it when I saw you naked, but I was hoping I was wrong. Tsunade's going to kill you." Keita said, shaking his head at the raven.

"He instigated it." Sasuke insisted. "Who was I to turn down an injured man?"

"I'll run to the hospital and get something. My partner will be watching the house while I'm gone. Don't go anywhere."

"I know." Sasuke insisted as he backed into the house and closed the door. He headed back for the living room, seeing Naruto sitting up and wincing as he touched his chest.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked urgently, running to the blond's side and bending down beside the couch. Naruto smiled warmly.

"I'm fine. Kitchen next?" Sasuke laughed slightly, shaking his head.

"No, no more tonight. We'll wait a few more days." He reached out to lightly run his hand over the soiled bandages. "Keita went to get you some more gauze."

"Since the bandages are going to be changed anyway, I should take a shower."

"You mean a bath. You can't get your stitches wet." Sasuke insisted, helping the blond stand.

"Bath, shower. Whichever." He paused, smiling saucily at Sasuke. "Then again, since we'll be in the bath, and my bandages are ruined _anyway_, wanna serenade the bathroom next?"

_Yes!_ Sasuke's inner self cheered happily, going into chibi form.

_No!_ Sasuke shot back.

_Wha—why not? He's willing! His bandages are already ruined __**anyway**__! You'll be in the bath, so it'll be easy to clean it up!_

_He's __**injured**_

_And willing! Come on, just do it! You know you want to! You almost lost him! Don't you want to make sure he's actually __**here**__ and __**alive**_

_I made sure in the living room._

_Make sure in the __**bathroom**_

_I have a long time with him to have sex in every room! I don't need to rush!_

_You can have sex in every room __**twice**_

Sasuke paused, thinking this over. That was—appealing. Sex in every room twice. The faster he got every room done, the faster he could do every room again.

_Fine, you win this round, but next time, I'll kick your ass!_

_I'd love to see you try,_ his inner self retorted, grinning.

Sasuke kissed Naruto's temple before whispering in his ear. "Get the bath ready. I'll wait for the bandages."

"Deal." Naruto tilted his head to kiss Sasuke on the lips before turning away from him and heading up the stairs. Sasuke himself headed for the door.

God help him, Sasuke really _was_ turning into Genma. He was almost tempted to ask if Genma himself had a little perverted inner voice, too.

* * *

**A/N: Nope, just fifty devils, AHAHAHAHA! ... I'm done... **

**Also, before anyone says that this is not possible, let me inform you that yes, it is. My best friend's father is a police officer and he told us about something like this that happened (obviously, after it had all been resolved). So, yes, this does happen in our world, I didn't just make it up. **

**And, okay, so I didn't do it. I was debating whether or not to kill him and end it here, but then I figured the Itachi problem hadn't been solved and I got a newer, better idea! And this idea needed Naruto. Also, my muse was like "YOU KILLED HIM? WHAT IS **_**WRONG **_**WITH YOU?" So... yes, I had to bring him back. Sorry to anyone who thinks this was a bad idea :(**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	23. A Better Understanding of Itachi Uchiha

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Here's what I'm thinking. I find K. Masashi, I threaten to stop watching Naruto until he gives me Kiba, and go home a happy woman with Kiba in my back seat. Yes. Perfect. It'll work for sure!**

**PS: I smell like fire. I just felt like sharing, lol. My friends and I had a huge bonfire on the beach and burned all of our notes from this semester (well, I burned their stuff. I'm still not done exams, so I can't burn my stuff yet T.T) So, yes, I smell like fire. Hurray for randomness on my part :dances:**

**

* * *

**

Itachi Uchiha followed the path laid out before him, inhaling slowly on his cigarette. He flicked it to rid the end of its ashes as he exhaled, the smoke billowing around him before disappearing in the air. His boots crunched loudly over fallen leaves on the path, and the wind blew against him, causing his coat to ruffle behind him.

As a cabin came into view, he took one final drag before flicking the cigarette away, exhaling the smoke he'd pulled into his lungs. He didn't bother to worry about his cigarette lighting the forest on fire. If it did, it did. There was nothing he could do about it. Even if there was, he wouldn't care enough to do it. What did it matter if a few trees burned?

He pushed through the door before him and entered the small cabin, his eyes landing on the only other occupant.

Kisame Hoshigaki—an escaped convict code-named 'The Shark'—was sitting at the small wooden table, reading the newspaper. He didn't even look up as the elder Uchiha walked in.

"You're late." he commented simply as he turned the page. "Find him?"

Itachi didn't respond, not deeming the question important enough to answer. Obviously, if he'd returned _not_ covered in blood, he hadn't found him.

"Why bother with the old man?" Kisame asked as he put the newspaper down, surveying his quiet companion. "Didn't you say killing the brat was enough?"

"I do not believe he is dead." Itachi fell onto the couch, bringing his feet up so he was lying down on it.

"What?" his annoying companion asked. "You said your brother bawled like a baby and acted like it was the end of the world."

"That's just it." Itachi levelled his intense gaze on Kisame, causing the other man to flinch. "He was acting. Why would he suddenly disappear from the school hours before Kakashi was seen departing? He went to the blond. He isn't dead, they just want me to think he is."

"So, what now?" Kisame leaned back in his chair. "You couldn't find this Kakashi person, and now that murderer's brat is still alive, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Perhaps not." Itachi glanced at the phone in the far corner, Kisame following his gaze. It took him a few seconds to understand and he turned back to Itachi with a grin on his face.

"Think it'll be listed?"

"There is a chance, but I'm not certain." Itachi closed his eyes. "He _was_ an Uzumaki, after all."

"I'm sure we can twist someone's arm until they talk. Didn't you say you shot one of their friends?" Itachi thought back to Kiba.

"Perhaps."

Kisame left him alone after this, able to recognize the short, clipped replies for what they were. Itachi was done talking.

The Uchiha himself just lay on the couch, his eyes closed and recalling how he'd turned into the person he was. Recalling why he hated his parents, and most especially, his brother.

* * *

_Fugaku Uchiha slapped Itachi hard across the face. The seven year old merely turned his head back to face his enraged father. Fugaku grabbed the front of Itachi's shirt, yanking him forward so their faces were almost touching._

"_You think this is __**acceptable**__?!" He backhanded the young boy across the face, still holding his shirt collar. Itachi again turned back to face his father, blood dribbling down his chin from the new wound he'd acquired. His father shook out his hand to rid it of Itachi's blood. _

"_We're very disappointed, Itachi." Mikoto Uchiha said as she stood by the door, knowing full well to stay away from Fugaku when he was this angry._

"_Disappointed doesn't __**begin**__ to describe it!" He turned the boy around and forced his head down towards a table. _

_At first, Itachi thought his father was going to slam his head into the wooden table, but it stopped above it, his eyes focusing on the source of their anger._

_His report card._

_He had two B's, and four A's._

_Any other parents would be thrilled._

_His weren't._

"_What the hell have you been doing?!" Fugaku yanked him back into a standing position, grabbing the report card with his free hand and waving it in his son's face. "__**Two**__ B's?!" He shoved his son angrily, causing the boy to fall onto his backside. His father began ripping up his report card. "If you can't do better, you're not __**worthy**__ of the name Uchiha!" He threw the ripped pieces of paper at Itachi before storming towards the door. "No dinner. I don't even want to __**see**__ your face for the rest of the week!" He slammed the door angrily, leaving his son alone on the floor of his bedroom._

_Itachi's fists clenched angrily despite his face betraying no emotion. He was used to being treated in such a way when his parents were not pleased with him. It had been like this for as long as he could remember. It didn't mean he had to like it, though. He had to be __**perfect**__. He couldn't do a single thing wrong, or he would go through what had just happened again. _

_To stop this from happening again and again, he had to be better. He had to improve, had to be perfect. And while he improved, he would learn how to fight, so that one day—one day, he would fight __**back**__. And then, __**he**__ would be the one with another's blood on his hands._

_

* * *

_

_**One year later, Itachi is eight.**_

_Itachi glared down into the crib before him. The one containing a younger version of himself. His brother, Sasuke. It was so small, it would be so easy to just wrap his hand around that tiny throat and end its life._

_But he wouldn't do that._

_No, he wouldn't._

_Because after all, misery loves company._

_With this __**thing**__ also living, it would suffer just as much as Itachi—if not, more so. It would live in Itachi's shadow, forced to outdo the elder brother in order to escape a beating._

_But nothing would enable it to surpass Itachi. He had become too perfect. Perfect at school, perfect at sports, perfect at hiding his emotions._

_Then again, Itachi had no emotions left to express, did he?_

_No, he would allow it to live. This little brother of his. He would watch it suffer as much as he had. _

_

* * *

_

_**Eight years later, Sasuke is eight, Itachi is sixteen.  
One year prior to the Uchiha murder. **_

"_Mommy!" Sasuke ran into the kitchen, a huge grin on his face._

"_Oh, dear. Aren't __**you**__ happy?" Mikoto crouched to catch the running eight year old, lifting him in her arms. Itachi watched dispassionately from the table, his homework open before him._

"_Mommy, look!" The younger brother pulled his report card from his backpack, which was still on his back, and held it before his mother's eyes. Mikoto gasped._

"_Oh, my! Your first A! Congratulations!" She kissed her son's cheek, hugging him tightly._

_Itachi went back to his work, ignoring the praise his mother gave to his younger brother. It had been like this since Sasuke was born, and Itachi saw it for what it was immediately: Itachi was raised to be perfect; Sasuke was raised to be loved. _

_Every day, Itachi regretted not having snapped his brother's neck years ago. It only continued to anger him that he still got beaten when he did something wrong while Sasuke merely received a small scolding. And Sasuke never got scolded for any of the same reasons as Itachi. _

_Itachi still got beaten if he didn't have above nine-five percent in all of his classes. He'd kept his grades up around ninety-seven percent and ninety-eight percent, but it still angered him that Sasuke had __**today**__ gotten his first A when Itachi had been expected straight A's at that age. _

"_Oh, wait until your father sees this, sweetheart. He'll be __**so**__ proud. You truly __**are**__ your father's son." _

_Itachi's grip tightened on his pencil, but his face didn't change in the slightest. He merely continued what he was doing, holding onto his pencil more tightly than he really needed to._

"_Brother! Look!" Itachi's eyes shot up to look at the thing that was his younger brother, hate oozing out of every pore of his body._

"_Ah, ah. You mustn't disturb your brother." Mikoto insisted as she placed one hand teasingly over Sasuke's mouth. "Father isn't happy with his grades, so he has to work extra hard to improve." _

"_Oh. Sorry, Itachi." The youngest Uchiha smiled brightly at his brother. Itachi stared at him in hatred a while longer before focusing back on the sheets of paper before him._

_The front door slammed a few minutes later, alerting everyone of Fugaku's arrival._

"_Honey, come in here. Sasuke has a surprise for you." Mikoto called as Sasuke held his report card excitedly._

_Fugaku walked into the kitchen, kissing his wife's cheek before bending down in front of Sasuke. "A surprise, huh? I've had a bad day, but I'm sure this will lift my spirits."_

_Sasuke smiled hugely before showing his father his report card, holding it proudly in both hands._

"_My God! Your very first A! This is wonderful!" Fugaku laughed as he lifted Sasuke in his arms. "You are truly my son!" _

_Itachi's eyes snapped up at those words, locking hatefully with his father's. Fugaku gave him a look that asked if he wanted to make something of it._

_Itachi's hand clenched again and he broke his pencil in two. Nevertheless, he lowered his eyes back down to his homework, continuing it with only half a pencil in his hand. _

* * *

Itachi heard a noise close to him and couldn't help but feel someone was in his immediate personal space. Opening his eyes, they focused on a sheet of paper Kisame was dangling in front of his face.

Sitting up, the Uchiha took what Kisame had in his hands and scanned it. His face remained indifferent but inside, he was smiling. This was exactly what he needed. He almost felt tempted to ask the other man where he'd found it, but didn't think there was a need. He had it. That was good enough.

The Uchiha Prodigy stood up and walked towards the door as Kisame spoke. "Where are you going?"

"To the address."

There was a pause, and then, "Can I come?"

The Uchiha turned to survey his companion. The man was large, displaying his obvious brute force. His eyes had a hint of hysteria in them as he stared back at Itachi, almost as if the blood lust was driving him insane.

"Fine. There are probably police officers stationed there. I'll enter the house while you keep them distracted."

"Police officers?" The other man smirked as he pulled out a rifle from behind the couch. "What police officers?"

* * *

"Why do you want to kill your brother? I mean, apart from the fact that killing gives you a rush. Man, I love it when they beg. Are you going to make him beg before you kill him?"

Itachi wished he'd decided to come alone.

It wasn't bad having the other man with him. It meant less work for him, really. It was also nice that he didn't have to drive and could focus on his plan—not that there was anything wrong with his plan. There never was. The fact that Kisame also knew where they were going helped a lot, too.

"Did you have a reason for killing your wife?" Itachi asked coolly.

"Not really. I just felt like it."

"So why do you assume I have a reason?"

"You seem more calculating than me." Kisame insisted with a shrug. "You're the kind of guy who'll go somewhere with a plan in your head. I'll just barrel in, guns blazing. If my life were a movie, I'd be the fearless anti-hero."

Itachi didn't reply to this. He didn't want to listen to the other man any longer. He just wanted to get this done. Get it over with. Make Sasuke _pay_. It was all he wanted.

"We're almost there." Kisame informed.

"Park a few blocks away." Kisame merely nodded as they continued down the road.

When he stopped the car, the two of them exited it, Kisame's rifle hidden beneath his large coat. Itachi wore the same coat, a gun in a holster at his waist. He told Kisame he'd be going in the back and Kisame should focus on distracting the police officers at the front. The Shark headed for the house via the street while Itachi went one street over and walked down the row of houses so he could reach the house and climb into the backyard.

He found the house he wanted and jumped easily over the fence, waiting for the telltale sound of gunfire. As soon as he heard it, he rushed for the back door, opening it.

"Shit! Shit!" He heard the house's occupant exclaim from upstairs. Itachi walked calmly towards the stairs as he heard footsteps running down them. He aimed and fired at the back of the person's leg once it came into view, sending the person toppling down the stairs. "Jesus! Fuck!"

Itachi walked calmly towards Kakashi as he lay sprawled on the floor, his arm bleeding from landing on his previous wound. Itachi could also see hints of blood seeping through the silver-haired man's shirt. He'd reopened Kakashi's other wounds, and added a new one.

"Itachi." Kakashi hissed, his face distorted in anger and hatred.

"Hello, Kakashi."

"Come to kill me, too?" Kakashi asked, not seeming the least bit concerned for his safety. Itachi almost frowned. Kakashi was acting calm and collected, but the Uchiha knew for a fact he didn't have a plan. He would've sensed it if the professor had a plan.

"Yes. But torturing you beforehand will be more entertaining."

Itachi aimed his gun at Kakashi's left knee and fired.

* * *

Sasuke's head shot up at the sound. It wasn't an alarm clock, he knew that for sure. But—what _was_ it?

Naruto reaching over and picking up the phone answered his question. He lay back down, snuggling closer to the blond so the other boy's back was pressed against his chest.

"Yeah, what?" Naruto mumbled sleepily into the phone.

"Naruto, Kakashi's been shot!"

The blond sat up so quickly he hissed, his stitches already strained from his previous activities with Sasuke.

Sasuke himself knew something was wrong by the way Naruto sat up, and sat up as well, his hand on Naruto's shoulder and concern in his eyes.

"What do you _mean_ he's been shot?!" Naruto demanded of Tsunade.

"Shot?! Give me that!" Sasuke wrenched the phone from Naruto's grip. "What happened?"

"Sasuke, Kakashi's in the hospital."

Sasuke's blood ran cold and his grip tightened on the phone.

"When did this happen?"

"About an hour ago. I didn't hear about it until now. I called you straight away."

"Is he all right?" Sasuke inquired, his knuckles turning white from clenching the phone so tightly.

"He's alive, but he's in bad shape. The doctors say it looks like all of his vital organs were missed on purpose."

Sasuke wanted to hurl the phone across the room. He wanted to punch the walls until they crumbled away and his knuckles bled. Itachi was fucking with him, and he knew it. His elder brother was going to make everyone who cared about Sasuke suffer until they stopped caring. He was going to slowly kill Sasuke by taking everything away from him one way or another.

"What hospital?"

"The same one Naruto was at." Sasuke hung up the phone and stood up.

"Is Kakashi okay?" Naruto asked, concerned, as he also stood up.

Sasuke suddenly spun around and slammed his fist into the wall.

"_**FUCK!"**_ he hollered angrily, having cracked the wall from the force of his punch. His bones screamed in agony and he suspected he may just have broken every bone in his hand.

He stood like that for a few seconds. Minutes. Hours. He didn't know. He just knew he couldn't move. He breathed hard, his fist still in the wall, his other clenched at his side.

He felt two hands tentatively wrap themselves around his torso, hugging him from behind. "It'll be okay, Sasuke. They'll catch him, it'll be okay."

Sasuke wanted to turn around and slap Naruto. He wanted to scream at him and punch him and tell him that it _wouldn't _be okay.

But he didn't.

Naruto didn't deserve that. It wasn't his fault. It was no one but Itachi's fault.

Shakily, the raven pulled his hand back and straightened before he turned to hug Naruto. The blond didn't say anything as he hugged him, just running his hands up and down Sasuke's back, trying to calm him down.

"You should go see Kakashi." Naruto said to him.

"You can't come." Sasuke reminded.

"I know. I'll be fine here. Kakashi needs you now. Just go. Make sure he's okay."

"I can't go by myself." Sasuke insisted. "I need you."

"Kakashi needs you more."

Sasuke knew Naruto was right. He knew he should go. He should've been gone five minutes ago, but he just couldn't face Kakashi knowing that it was his fault he was there.

Sasuke hesitated, his grip tightening on the blond. He didn't want to let him go yet. He wanted—no, he _needed_ to tell him. He was just too scared to.

"Naruto." The Uchiha took a deep, shaky breath. "I lo—"

"I know." the blond interrupted. "You don't have to say it."

"I want to." Sasuke insisted as he took another deep breath. "I love you, Naruto."

He felt the blond smile against his shoulder before he also spoke.

"I love you, too, Sasuke."

"You'll be here when I get back?" Sasuke whispered.

"I promise."

* * *

**A/N: Ladyfox10 brought something to my attention and I almost shot myself. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten it (sorry the leviathan, I hope you're re-reading this, cause the last bit was changed). Ladyfox10 was talking about the fact that they hadn't said "I love you" yet. I was so sure they had, but, OMG! THEY HAVEN'T! I was disappointed with myself, lol. So, thank you for bringing that to my attention :)**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	24. A Broken Promise

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi doesn't like the pain I'm putting his characters through and has officially decided NOT to give me Kiba. I'LL STEAL HIM! JUST YOU WAIT! HE **_**WILL**_** BE MINE!**

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Kakashi's mind was starting to focus again, despite how much he was forcing it not to. He wanted to go back to sleep. He wanted his brain to shut down so he wouldn't feel the pain. But he couldn't. As his mind slowly awoke, the pain made itself known. He was doped up on painkillers, but he still felt the pain.

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi sighed inwardly. If Sasuke had left Naruto to come see him, he couldn't be selfish and wish to go back to sleep. So, the older man opened his eyes and looked at the boy sitting in the chair beside his bed.

"Sasuke."

"You look like shit." Sasuke said, but Kakashi could tell he was upset.

"Yes, well, that's what happens when you're shot repeatedly." Kakashi replied, closing his eyes. It was too hard to keep them open. "How's Naruto?"

"He's fine." Sasuke whispered. "Are you—okay?"

"Not particularly, but I'll live. Unfortunately for you, I'll continue being your guardian for a long time." He tried to smile, but it hurt, so he gave up.

"I'm really sorry, Kakashi." Sasuke whispered.

At this, Kakashi forced his eyes open and turned his head to regard Sasuke, who was looking down in his lap. The boy looked completely defeated. Kakashi had never seen him look like that before, and it hurt to see Sasuke like that.

"It's not your fault, Sasuke. As much as you think it is, it's not. It's Itachi's. To be more precise, I'm sorry to say it's actually your parents' faults." Sasuke looked up at Kakashi. "Had your parents not been the way they were, Itachi never would've hated them. He never would've hated you."

"How-how did you—"

"It was no secret." Kakashi sighed, shifting to get more comfortable. He winced as his various injuries protested the movement. "Obito and I often walked by the house and heard your father yelling at him. I'm glad they never treated you like that, but it doesn't excuse the fact that they turned Itachi into the monster he is now."

Sasuke said nothing, having gone back to examining his lap. The silence stretched on for a long time, and Kakashi was ready to try and go back to sleep when Sasuke spoke again.

"You don't—hate me, do you?"

"Why would I hate you?" Kakashi inquired, frowning.

"It's because of me all this is happening. Naruto getting shot. You getting shot. Kiba, Kotetsu—everyone will hate me. They'll die, or hate me. I'll lose everyone."

"Sasuke." Kakashi sighed, despite how much it hurt his chest to do so. "Naruto got a bullet through the chest. I got tortured before finally losing consciousness. Kiba was shot in the leg. Shikamaru, Shino and Chouji are aware of the danger. Have any of us stopped talking to you? Have any of us asked you to stay away from us? Have any of us ever told you we hated you?" Sasuke didn't reply. "We know it's not your fault. I'm sure they're all scared—I know I am—but we're not going to hold this against you. It's not your fault, and you really need to understand that, Sasuke. Nobody blames you. Nobody will stop being your friend because of this."

"I don't want to risk losing anyone else." Sasuke whispered. "I want to tell Naruto to stay away from me. I want to say I hate him. I want to make him hate me."

"You know he wouldn't believe you if you said you hated him. You know he would never hate you. He'll know what you're doing, and he wouldn't let you do it. You're too important to him, just like he's too important to you." Sasuke couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Okay, Raidou, where's Kakashi?"

"I'm serious, Sasuke."

"So am I. Where's Kakashi?" Kakashi sighed again, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I took lessons. Once you started changing, I knew I'd have to start working on talking you through your problems."

"Thanks." Sasuke whispered. "For caring, and for trying to help."

"You're important to me, too, Sasuke."

"As someone who's important to you, will you take my advice?" Kakashi frowned, but nodded nonetheless. "Take the mask off, Kakashi."

Kakashi had to admit, of all the things he'd been expecting, that hadn't been on the list.

"What?"

"Stop hiding your face. I know it's because of your father, but you have to understand that even though you look like him, you _aren't_ him. You're different, and you shouldn't hate your face because it reminds you of him. He was him, you're you." The raven shrugged. "Besides, it'll make it easier for Iruka to give you kisses with your mask off. Has he even _seen_ your face, or do you cover his eyes when you take off the mask?"

"Actually, the lights are usually off." Kakashi said with a sheepish smile.

"Honestly, Hatake, stop being a pansy." Kakashi let out a sigh and decided it would be the last one. His chest was really hurting.

"I'll think about it."

"Thank you."

"You should head back. Naruto's waiting for you." Sasuke nodded as he stood up.

"I'll be around. I want to make sure you're okay and everything." Kakashi nodded.

"I'll be fine, but thank you." Sasuke nodded and turned towards the door to leave. "Before you go," the raven turned back, "take my keys out of my pants pockets." Kakashi motioned the clothes hanging in the corner. "I want you to go home and get some more bullets for your gun."

"I have some at the dorm. I'll just head back to my room and grab them real quick."

"Okay. Stay safe, Sasuke."

"I will."

* * *

Sasuke was driving faster than usual as he headed back to Naruto's. He knew Itachi thought the blond was dead. He knew police officers were watching the house. But he couldn't get the sinking feeling in his gut to go away. His gut seemed frighteningly accurate lately, so he wanted to get back to Mission as quickly as possible.

He reached Naruto's house and parked the car before stepping out. He looked around, trying to find Keita. Usually, when Sasuke was pulling up, the police officer would make himself known to show he was still there and watching the house. Sasuke frowned when the man did not do this.

"Keita?" he called.

There was no reply.

His heart jack-hammering in his throat, Sasuke began to walk towards Keita's position. The closer he got, the more he felt his heart taking up residence in his throat. He pushed apart some branches and was greeted with Keita lying on the ground, a wound in his chest and blood drenching his police shirt. There was a man across from him that Sasuke didn't recognize with a bullet in his head. He was obviously the one who'd shot the police officer.

"Keita!" He ran up to the man and fumbled to check for a pulse. He felt one. It was feint, but it was still there. "Shit." Sasuke pulled out the police officer's radio as he grabbed the gun near Keita's arm with his other hand.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha at 1324 Merkley Crescent. Please respond." Sasuke said into the radio. It crackled before a voice answered.

"This is a police radio station, it is unauthorized to civilians." a curt woman replied.

"No fucking shit, lady! How do you think I got this station?! I'm currently sitting beside a cop, and he's hurt real bad! His partner probably isn't any better!"

"Did you say 1324 Merkley Crescent? The Uzumaki residence?"

"Yes!" Sasuke exclaimed, his voice steadily rising. It had only just occurred to him that if Keita was shot—_oh my God! Naruto!_

Dropping the radio and trusting the cops to come from his lack of response and the knowledge that an officer was down, Sasuke flew back towards the house and practically vaulted over the car's hood as he ran for the front door. He slammed it open and stumbled as he lost his balance.

"Naruto!" he hollered as he ran through the house. He heard a gunshot from upstairs and his mind went on overload. He bolted up the stairs, Keita's gun still in his hand.

Slamming through Naruto's door, his eyes zeroed in on Naruto. The boy was on the ground, a wound in his left shoulder and right leg. The wound in his chest had reopened and was bleeding sluggishly, forming a pool of blood on the floor.

Sasuke's eyes shot up and locked with Itachi's. The other boy still had his gun aimed at Naruto, as if the blond had been unconscious for some time and Itachi had just shot him in the shoulder and leg to amuse himself.

"Lies are a bad habit, little brother." Itachi said simply.

"What do you want from me?!" Sasuke hollered angrily, aiming his gun at Itachi. "Why don't you leave them all alone and just _fucking kill __**me**_?!"

"Because you are weak." Sasuke's head snapped back. "You are not yet strong enough to challenge me. When I left you alive all those years ago, I decided I would wait for you to become strong, to challenge me for the title 'Uchiha'. You're still weak, and I can see no way for you to get stronger other than by attacking those dear to you." He made his point by shooting Naruto once more, this time hitting him in the stomach.

"Stop it!" Sasuke fired at Itachi, hitting him in the shoulder. He couldn't aim as well as Itachi, but he knew not to aim for the chest. He was probably still wearing his bulletproof vest, and even though Sasuke had two guns this time, he would rather not waste his bullets on Itachi's vest.

"Still not enough anger. Not enough hatred. What must I do to make you truly try?" Itachi aimed one last time and Sasuke's eyes widened as he noticed where he was aiming. Naruto's head.

Sasuke lunged at Itachi, firing wildly. He didn't care what happened to him, he just had to make sure that Naruto was all right. If possible, he wanted to get this fight out of the room.

He slammed into his older brother, the two of them falling to the floor. It was an undignified way of fighting, and everything Iruka had taught Sasuke had been thrown out the window. Right now, his only concern was keeping Itachi _away_ from Naruto.

The two of them wrestled on the ground for a bit, trying to shoot each other, but always missing. Itachi had the advantage, wearing the bulletproof vest, but his gun was underneath him, so he couldn't do anything.

Itachi kicked Sasuke off him and the younger boy flew through the air, landing right beside Naruto. His eyes widened as he realized that had he landed on the boy, Naruto would've died—if he wasn't dead already.

Itachi picked up his gun and began to aim when Sasuke propelled himself to his feet, grabbing the gun hand. He wrestled with Itachi, trying to make him let go as he pulled his elder brother towards the door, attempting to get him away from his lover.

Once outside the room, he shoved Itachi hard, causing him to slam into the wall. Itachi got his knee up between the two of them and forced Sasuke away. Sasuke slammed into the opposite wall and ducked his head as a shot barely missed him. He ran down the corridor, covering his head with his hands as Itachi continued to fire at him, following him.

Sasuke reached the stairs and began to descend them when Itachi slammed into his side, the two of them flying over the railing. Sasuke managed to flip them around in the air so that Itachi landed first.

His elder brother let out a grunt of pain as he landed hard, and Sasuke heard something snap. He smirked satisfyingly. His brother deserved it. He was then pushed off his brother, landing flat on his ass. He scrambled across the room and stood, pulling his other gun from inside his pants, thanking God it hadn't fallen out. He'd dropped Keita's gun upstairs.

He held the gun up, aiming for his brother. The funny thing was, his brother was mirroring him, his own gun out and aimed at Sasuke. Both were panting, blood spattered here or there on them due to their fight.

"I guess he meant more to you than I thought." Itachi stated calmly, even though one of his fingers was bent at an impossible angle.

"I'll make you pay for what you did." Sasuke hissed. "To Kotetsu. To Kiba. To Naruto. To Kakashi. To our parents. But most importantly of all, I'll make you pay for what to did to _me_!"

The two guns erupted at the same time, the bullets flying past each other to hit the other person. Sasuke's landed right on target, smashing into the elder Uchiha's head, sending him flying backwards into the beige couch. He sat sprawled out, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his mouth hanging open. It was the most humiliating pose for the proud Uchiha. It was a good thing he was dead and would never know he'd done it.

As for Sasuke, the bullet hit him right above his collarbone. His eyes widened as his oesophagus closed up and he stumbled backwards, tripping over the coffee table. He landed hard, hitting the back of his head against the corner. Sasuke fell unconscious, lying on the table, bleeding heavily from his two new wounds.

When the police arrived, they found two injured cops, two dead murderers, and two boys who were unconsciously struggling to stay alive.

* * *

**© 2006** **FastForward**


	25. The Raven

**© 2006** **FastForward**

**Disclaimer: Kiba isn't mine. Naruto isn't mine. Heck, nobody is mine. Not even the ones K. Masashi tried to get rid of earlier. They're just—not mine :bursts into tears: I WANT THEM!**

**A/N: Before we get on with it, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed this story, and thank you so much to those of you who reviewed consistently (there were quite a few of you, so thank you very, very much. It meant a lot to me). **

**I'd also like to say thanks a lot to the leviathan for being my beta and putting up with all my repetitive mistakes :sweatdrop: and also, to my muse, who is the source of my crazy ideas (the sadistic ones are mostly me... although I shouldn't be proud of that...) **

**Enjoy the last chapter of Roommates, and thanks for coming this far with me :)**

* * *

A raven-haired boy followed the group of students into the exam room, all of them casting him glances and whispering.

"His lover, right?"

"Yeah, I heard it was his brother who did it."

"Why is he even here? He's all injured, how is he supposed to be able to concentrate?"

The raven ignored everyone, walking to the middle of the room and sitting down in his seat. He waited patiently for the start of the exam and then began to write. The answers came to him easily, a welcome distraction from everything that had happened. He didn't want to think; he didn't want to remember. He just wanted to write his exam and leave.

He wouldn't even have been there if it weren't for him wanting to stop thinking about it for a while. Studying and taking the exam were helping him cope. The more he answered the questions, the more he forgot about what he would be remembering in just a few hours.

He finished the exam with forty minutes to spare, and spent ten minutes reviewing all of his answers. He was confident they were all right, so gathering his things, he stood up and walked towards the front.

Everyone looked up to watch him, and he could even hear people whispering about him, despite the exam.

"He must've studied his butt off to forget about what happened."

"There's no guarantee he even finished. He might have just given up."

He ignored the whispers, walking to the front with his exam, raking his hand through his black hair. Reaching the professor, he nodded to him as he handed him his exam.

Genma took the Anatomy exam, putting it in a pile as he regarded the blank blue eyes of the boy before him.

"Thanks, Naruto."

The raven nodded, raking his hand through his dyed black hair for a second time.

"Tell Kakashi we miss him up here when you see him."

Again, the raven just nodded before turning and exiting the room, aware of all the eyes following his exit.

Naruto walked towards the parking lot, getting into his car and starting it. He turned off the screen, not wanting to hear it talk in its robotic voice. It just pissed him off. He briefly considered having it removed.

He placed his hand on his chest and winced, feeling his half-healed wound complain as he shifted in his seat. His three other wounds were fine. That one bothered him the most out of all of them.

Ignoring the pain, he backed out of his spot and turned to head down the street. He drove in silence for a long time, not even bothering to swear at people who cut him off, or drive excessively fast.

He reached the hospital within a few minutes and walked through the doors, heading for the second floor. The second he exited the elevator, he heard a sigh.

"Back _again_, Naruto?" Shizune inquired.

The boy said nothing and merely walked down the corridor to one of the doors. Looking inside, he noticed the silver-haired man asleep and sighed. He didn't want to wake Kakashi up.

Shaking his head, he turned around and went back to the front desk where Shizune was looking through some files. She looked up as he approached and gave him a sigh.

"No, Naruto. There's been no change. I'm sorry."

The raven nodded before turning around and heading back down the corridor. He bypassed Kakashi's room, going to the room next door, opening and closing the door silently. He turned and walked to the chair beside the bed, sitting in it and grabbing the hand of its occupant.

Sasuke lay in the bed with his eyes closed, just as they had been for the last month. Monitors beeped and worked at keeping the boy in a coma alive.

Naruto kissed the other boy's hand before brushing some of Sasuke's black hair off his forehead.

"Hey. I'm back."

**THE END.**

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**A/N: Now that you all hate me... :sweatdrop:  
I would like to thank everyone (again) who has read and reviewed this story. You guys were absolutely awesome and I thank you very, very much! It was always nice to wake up in the morning and find out I had reviews. It's what made me update as quickly as I did. **

**I'm thinking of starting another fic real quick, another Naruto, but it won't be an AU. It's going to be a few years later in the manga version of Naruto, so if you liked this one, please come back and give my other one a try :)**

**Again, thank you all very much, and please don't kill me.**

**EDIT: I've gotten a few reviews where people are confused as to what is going on in this chapter, so I thought I would clarify: Naruto is the person taking the exam, he dyed his hair black which is why I refer to him as "the raven". Yes, this is all part of my evil plan to make my readers think Naruto is dead and Sasuke is the person taking the exam, but it's **_**NARUTO**_**. Note the fact that it's Anatomy with Genma, a course that Sasuke doesn't take.  
Also, Sasuke is not dead, he is in a coma. Kakashi isn't in a coma, nor is he dead, he is just asleep. Kakashi was conscious when he talked to Sasuke before he went home, remember?  
So, Naruto has black hair, Naruto took the exam, Sasuke is in a coma, and Kakashi is just asleep. I hope that clears up some confusion and sorry I make things complicated. **

**EDIT2: I wrote this in my profile, but I may as well write it here, too. I caved, with the reviews asking for a sequel and my uni friends twisting my arm for a sequel—there will be a sequel. I have the idea in my head, and it will be started as soon as I finish my current one. The sequel will be called "Blood and Tears". (Nice and optimistic, huh? Lol).**

**EDIT3: The sequel is now out. It can be found in my profile. It's entitled "Blood and Tears".**

**© 2006** **FastForward**


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